Indiana Code 16-36-7-37. Advance directive made part of medical records; capacity; compliance with decisions by health care representative
(b) If a health care provider believes that an individual may lack the capacity to give informed consent to health care, then, until the individual is determined to have capacity under section 35 of this chapter, the health care provider shall consult with:
Terms Used In Indiana Code 16-36-7-37
- advance directive: means a written declaration of a declarant who:
Indiana Code 16-36-7-2
- declarant: means a competent adult who has executed an advance directive. See Indiana Code 16-36-7-4
- health care: means any care, treatment, service, supplies, or procedure to maintain, diagnose, or treat an individual's physical or mental condition, including preventive, therapeutic, rehabilitative, maintenance, or palliative care, and counseling. See Indiana Code 16-36-7-9
- health care decision: means the following:
Indiana Code 16-36-7-10
- health care provider: means any person licensed, certified, or authorized by law to administer health care in the ordinary course of business or practice of a profession. See Indiana Code 16-36-7-12
- health care representative: means a competent adult designated by a declarant in an advance directive to:
Indiana Code 16-36-7-13
- informed consent: means consent voluntarily given by an individual after a sufficient explanation and disclosure of the subject matter involved to enable that individual to have a general understanding of the treatment or procedure and the medically acceptable alternatives, including the substantial risks and hazards inherent in the proposed treatment or procedure, and to make a knowing health care decision without coercion or undue influence. See Indiana Code 16-36-7-16
- proxy: means a competent adult who:
Indiana Code 16-36-7-20
- reasonably available: means a health care representative or proxy for an individual who is:
Indiana Code 16-36-7-21
(2) if a health care representative has not been designated or if a health care representative is not reasonably available to act, a proxy under section 42 of this chapter;
who has authority and priority to act and who is reasonably available to act.
(c) Subject to the right of a competent declarant to directly make and communicate health care decisions for the declarant and to rescind a health care decision by a health care representative who is designated in an advance directive, the following conditions apply:
(1) A health care provider may continue to administer treatment for the declarant’s comfort, care, or the alleviation of pain in addition to treatment made under the decision of the health care representative.
(2) Subject to subdivision (3), a health care provider shall comply with a health care decision made by a health care representative if the decision is communicated to the provider.
(3) If a health care provider is unwilling to comply with a health care decision made by a health care representative, the provider shall do the following:
(A) Notify the health care representative of the health care provider’s unwillingness to comply with the decision.
(B) Promptly take all steps necessary to transfer the responsibility for the declarant’s health care to another health care provider designated by the health care representative. However, a health care provider who takes steps for a transfer does not have a duty to look for or identify another health care provider who will accept the declarant.
However, if a health care provider is unwilling to comply with a health care decision made by a health care representative, and the declarant’s health condition would make transfer of the declarant untenable or unadvisable, this subsection does not prohibit the health care provider from following the health care provider’s dispute resolution procedure with the objective of reaching a decision in the best interest of the declarant.
As added by P.L.50-2021, SEC.63.