* § 2972. Dispute mediation system. 1. (a) Each hospital shall establish a mediation system for the purpose of mediating disputes regarding the issuance of orders not to resuscitate.

Terms Used In N.Y. Public Health Law 2972

  • Attending practitioner: means the physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant, licensed or certified pursuant to title eight of the education law, selected by or assigned to a patient in a hospital who has primary responsibility for the treatment and care of the patient. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2961
  • Capacity: means the ability to understand and appreciate the nature and consequences of an order not to resuscitate, including the benefits and disadvantages of such an order, and to reach an informed decision regarding the order. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2961
  • Cardiopulmonary resuscitation: means measures to restore cardiac function or to support ventilation in the event of a cardiac or respiratory arrest. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2961
  • Developmental disability: means a developmental disability as defined in subdivision twenty-two of § 1. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2961
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Hospital: means a hospital as defined in subdivision ten of § 1. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2961
  • Mental illness: means a mental illness as defined in subdivision twenty of § 1. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2961
  • Minor: means any person who is not an adult. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2961
  • Nurse practitioner: means a nurse practitioner certified pursuant to § 6910 of the education law who is practicing in accordance with subdivision three of § 6902 of the education law. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2961
  • Order not to resuscitate: means an order not to attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the event a patient suffers cardiac or respiratory arrest. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2961
  • Parent: means a parent who has custody of the minor. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2961
  • Patient: means a person admitted to a hospital. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2961
  • Surrogate: means the person selected to make a decision regarding resuscitation on behalf of another person pursuant to section twenty-nine hundred sixty-five of this article. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2961

(b) The dispute mediation system shall be described in writing and adopted by the hospital's governing authority. It may utilize existing hospital resources, such as a patient advocate's office or hospital chaplain's office, or it may utilize a body created specifically for this purpose, but, in the event a dispute involves a patient deemed to lack capacity pursuant to (i) paragraph (b) of subdivision three of section twenty-nine hundred sixty-three of this article, the system must include a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant eligible to provide a concurring determination pursuant to such subdivision, or a family member or guardian of the person of a person with a mental illness of the same or similar nature, or (ii) paragraph (c) of subdivision three of section twenty-nine hundred sixty-three of this article, the system must include a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant eligible to provide a concurring determination pursuant to such subdivision, or a family member or guardian of the person of a person with a developmental disability of the same or similar nature.

2. The dispute mediation system shall be authorized to mediate any dispute, including disputes regarding the determination of the patient's capacity, arising under this article between the patient and an attending practitioner or the hospital that is caring for the patient and, if the patient is a minor, the patient's parent, or among an attending practitioner, a parent, non-custodial parent, or legal guardian of a minor patient, any person on the surrogate list, and the hospital that is caring for the patient.

3. After a dispute regarding the issuance of an order not to resuscitate has been submitted to the dispute mediation system, an order not to resuscitate shall not be issued or shall be revoked and may not be reissued until (a) the dispute has been resolved or the system has concluded its effort to resolve the dispute or (b) seventy-two hours have elapsed from the time of the submission of the dispute, whichever shall occur first. Persons participating in the dispute mediation system shall be informed of their right to judicial review.

4. If a dispute between a patient who expressed a decision rejecting cardiopulmonary resuscitation and an attending practitioner or the hospital that is caring for the patient is submitted to the dispute mediation system, and either:

(a) the dispute mediation system has concluded its efforts to resolve the dispute, or

(b) seventy-two hours have elapsed from the time of submission without resolution of the dispute, whichever shall occur first, the attending practitioner shall either: (i) promptly issue an order not to resuscitate the patient or issue the order at such time as the conditions, if any, specified in the decision are met, and inform the hospital staff responsible for the patient's care of the order; or (ii) promptly arrange for the transfer of the patient to another physician, nurse practitioner, physician assistant or hospital.

5. Persons appointed pursuant to this section to participate in the dispute mediation system shall not have authority to determine whether a do not resuscitate order shall be issued.

* NB Repealed March 21, 2024

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