No health care provider or EMS personnel is liable for damages, may be the subject of disciplinary proceedings, or may be subject to civil or criminal liability due to:

(1) issuing a "do not resuscitate order for emergency medical services" or a "do not resuscitate bracelet";

Terms Used In South Carolina Code 44-78-35

  • bracelet: means a standardized identification bracelet that:

    (a) meets the specifications established under § 44-78-30(B) or that is approved by the department under § 44-78-30(B);

    (b) bears the inscription "Do Not Resuscitate"; and

    (c) signifies that the wearer is a patient who has obtained a do not resuscitate order which has not been revoked. See South Carolina Code 44-78-15
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • EMS personnel: means emergency medical personnel certified by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control including first responders who have completed a Department of Health and Environmental Control approved medical first responder program. See South Carolina Code 44-78-15
  • Health care provider: means a person licensed to practice medicine or osteopathy pursuant to Chapter 47 of Title 40. See South Carolina Code 44-78-15
  • Resuscitative treatment: means artificial stimulation of the cardiopulmonary systems of the human body, through either electrical, mechanical, or manual means including, but not limited to, cardiopulmonary resuscitation. See South Carolina Code 44-78-15

(2) good faith reliance on a "do not resuscitate order for emergency medical services" or a "do not resuscitate bracelet" resulting in:

(a) the withholding of resuscitative treatment; or

(b) the withholding of resuscitative treatment already in progress once a duly executed "do not resuscitate order for emergency medical services" is identified;

(3) initiating resuscitative treatment on a "do not resuscitate patient" if EMS personnel were unaware of the existence of the order or bracelet or if EMS personnel reasonably and in good faith believed the "do not resuscitate order" had been canceled or revoked or, where applicable, if the do not resuscitate bracelet has been tampered with or removed; or

(4) initiating resuscitative treatment on a "do not resuscitate patient" where in the best medical judgment of EMS personnel, the care was necessary to relieve pain or suffering or to provide comfort care to the patient.

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