Indiana Code 16-36-7-42. Decisions made by proxy
(b) This section applies only if a declarant is not capable of consenting to health care, and:
Terms Used In Indiana Code 16-36-7-42
- advance directive: means a written declaration of a declarant who:
Indiana Code 16-36-7-2
- best interests: means the promotion of the individual's welfare, based on consideration of material factors, including relief of suffering, preservation or restoration of function, and quality of life. See Indiana Code 16-36-7-3
- declarant: means a competent adult who has executed an advance directive. See Indiana Code 16-36-7-4
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- 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.
- 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 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) the declarant has executed an advance directive and the health care representative designated in the advance directive is not willing, able, or reasonably available to make health care decisions for the declarant.
(c) Except as provided in section 43 of this chapter, health care decisions may be made for the declarant by any of the following individuals to act as a proxy, in the following decreasing order of priority, if an individual in a prior class is not reasonably available, willing, and competent to act:
(1) The judicially appointed guardian of the declarant or a health care representative appointed under IC 16-36-1-8 or section 34(14) of this chapter.
(2) A spouse.
(3) An adult child.
(4) A parent.
(5) An adult sibling.
(6) A grandparent.
(7) An adult grandchild.
(8) The nearest other adult relative in the next degree of kinship who is not listed in subdivisions (2) through (7).
(9) A friend who:
(A) is an adult;
(B) has maintained regular contact with the individual; and
(C) is familiar with the individual’s activities, health, and religious or moral beliefs.
(10) The individual’s religious superior, if the individual is a member of a religious order.
(d) Any health care decision made under subsection (c) must be based on the proxy’s informed consent and on the decision the proxy reasonably believes the declarant would have made under the circumstances, taking into account the declarant’s express or implied intentions. If there is no reliable indication of what the declarant would have chosen, the proxy shall consider the declarant’s best interests in deciding that proposed treatments are to be withheld or that treatments currently in effect are to be withdrawn.
(e) Before exercising the incapacitated declarant’s rights to select or decline health care, the proxy must attempt to comply in good faith with:
(1) the instructions, desires, or preferences, if any, stated by the declarant regarding life prolonging procedures in an advance directive executed under IC 16-36-1, IC 16-36-4, or IC 30-5; and
(2) IC 16-36-6, if a valid POST form (as defined by IC 16-36-6-4) executed by the patient is in effect.
However, a proxy’s decision to withhold or withdraw life prolonging procedures must be supported by evidence that the decision would have been the one the declarant would have chosen had the declarant been competent or, if there is no reliable indication of what the declarant would have chosen, that the decision is in the declarant’s best interests.
(f) If there are multiple individuals at the same priority level under this section, those individuals shall make a reasonable effort to reach a consensus as to the health care decisions on behalf of the declarant who is unable to provide health care consent. If the individuals at the same priority level disagree as to the health care decisions on behalf of the declarant who is unable to provide health care consent, a majority of the available individuals at the same priority level controls.
(g) Nothing in this section shall be construed to preempt the designation of persons who may consent to the medical care or treatment of minors established under IC 16-36-1-5(b).
As added by P.L.50-2021, SEC.63.