S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
5014--A
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
May 2, 2011
___________
Introduced by Sen. DeFRANCISCO -- read twice and ordered printed, and
when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to the authority of
an agent to act outside a hospital setting to make certain decisions
regarding the transport of the principal to a particular medical
setting when such principal is unconscious or unresponsive
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 2981 of the public health law, as
2 added by chapter 752 of the laws of 1990, is amended to read as follows:
3 4. Commencement of agent's authority. The agent's authority shall
4 commence upon a determination, made pursuant to subdivision one of
5 section two thousand nine hundred eighty-three of this article, that the
6 principal lacks capacity to make health care decisions OR IF THE PRINCI-
7 PAL IS NOT FOUND WITHIN A HOSPITAL, MENTAL HYGIENE FACILITY OR RESIDEN-
8 TIAL HEALTH CARE FACILITY AND IS IN AN UNCONSCIOUS OR UNRESPONSIVE
9 STATE.
10 S 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 2983 of the public
11 health law, as added by chapter 752 of the laws of 1990, is amended to
12 read as follows:
13 (a) A determination that a principal lacks capacity to make health
14 care decisions shall be made by the attending physician to a reasonable
15 degree of medical certainty. The determination shall be made in writing
16 and shall contain such attending physician's opinion regarding the cause
17 and nature of the principal's incapacity as well as its extent and prob-
18 able duration. The determination shall be included in the patient's
19 medical record. For a decision to withdraw or withhold life-sustaining
20 treatment, the attending physician who makes the determination that a
21 principal lacks capacity to make health care decisions must consult with
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11239-02-1
S. 5014--A 2
1 another physician to confirm such determination. Such consultation shall
2 also be included within the patient's medical record. NO DETERMINATION
3 BY THE PHYSICIAN SHALL BE REQUIRED WHERE THE PRINCIPAL IS FOUND OUTSIDE
4 OF A HOSPITAL, MENTAL HYGIENE FACILITY OR RESIDENTIAL HEALTH CARE FACIL-
5 ITY AND THE PRINCIPAL IS UNCONSCIOUS OR UNRESPONSIVE AS THERE SHALL BE A
6 PRESUMPTION OF INCAPACITY FOR THE LIMITED PURPOSE OF EMPOWERING THE
7 HEALTH CARE AGENT TO MAKE HEALTH CARE DECISIONS IN REGARD TO THE CHOICE
8 OF WHICH HOSPITAL, MENTAL HYGIENE FACILITY, OR RESIDENTIAL HEALTH CARE
9 PROVIDER WHERE THE PRINCIPAL SHOULD BE TRANSPORTED.
10 S 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
11 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
12 ment and/or repeal of any rules or regulations necessary for the imple-
13 mentation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made on
14 or before such effective date.