N.Y. Public Health Law 2994-L – Interinstitutional transfers
§ 2994-l. Interinstitutional transfers. 1. If a patient with an order to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment is transferred from a mental hygiene facility to a hospital or from a hospital to a different hospital, any such order or plan shall remain effective until an attending practitioner first examines the transferred patient, whereupon an attending practitioner must either:
Terms Used In N.Y. Public Health Law 2994-L
- Attending practitioner: means a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant, selected by or assigned to a patient pursuant to hospital policy, who has primary responsibility for the treatment and care of the patient. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2994-A
- General hospital: means a general hospital as defined in subdivision ten of section twenty-eight hundred one of this chapter excluding a ward, wing, unit or other part of a general hospital operated for the purpose of providing services for persons with mental illness pursuant to an operating certificate issued by the commissioner of mental health. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2994-A
- Hospital: means a general hospital, a residential health care facility, or hospice. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2994-A
- Life-sustaining treatment: means any medical treatment or procedure without which the patient will die within a relatively short time, as determined by an attending physician to a reasonable degree of medical certainty. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2994-A
- Mental hygiene facility: means a facility operated or licensed by the office of mental health or the office for people with developmental disabilities as defined in subdivision six of § 1. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2994-A
- Mental illness: means a mental illness as defined in subdivision twenty of § 1. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2994-A
- Patient: means a person admitted to a hospital. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2994-A
(a) Issue appropriate orders to continue the prior order or plan. Such orders may be issued without obtaining another consent to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment pursuant to this article; or
(b) Cancel such order, if the attending practitioner determines that the order is no longer appropriate or authorized. Before canceling the order the attending practitioner shall make reasonable efforts to notify the person who made the decision to withhold or withdraw treatment and the hospital staff directly responsible for the patient's care of any such cancellation. If such notice cannot reasonably be made prior to canceling the order or plan, the attending practitioner shall make such notice as soon as reasonably practicable after cancellation.
2. Orders to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment shall remain effective and no affirmative action by a general hospital shall be required pursuant to this section where a patient is transferred within a general hospital between a medical unit and a ward, wing, unit, or other part of the general hospital which is operated for the purpose of providing services for persons with mental illness pursuant to an operating certificate issued by the commissioner of mental health.