§ 2994-f. Obligations of attending practitioner. 1. An attending practitioner informed of a decision to withdraw or withhold life-sustaining treatment made pursuant to the standards of this article shall record the decision in the patient's medical record, review the medical basis for the decision, and shall either: (a) implement the decision, or (b) promptly make his or her objection to the decision and the reasons for the objection known to the decision-maker, and either make all reasonable efforts to arrange for the transfer of the patient to another physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant, if necessary, or promptly refer the matter to the ethics review committee.

Terms Used In N.Y. Public Health Law 2994-F

  • Adult: means any person who is eighteen years of age or older or has married. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2994-A
  • 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
  • Decision-making capacity: means the ability to understand and appreciate the nature and consequences of proposed health care, including the benefits and risks of and alternatives to proposed health care, and to reach an informed decision. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2994-A
  • Ethics review committee: means the interdisciplinary committee established in accordance with the requirements of section twenty-nine hundred ninety-four-m of this article. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2994-A
  • guardian: means a health care guardian or a legal guardian of the person of a minor. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2994-A
  • 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 treatment, service, or procedure to diagnose or treat an individual's physical or mental condition. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2994-A
  • Health care provider: means an individual or facility licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized or permitted by law to administer health care in the ordinary course of business or professional practice. 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
  • Minor: means any person who is not an adult. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2994-A
  • 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 2994-A
  • Patient: means a person admitted to a hospital. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2994-A
  • Surrogate: means the person selected to make a health care decision on behalf of a patient pursuant to section twenty-nine hundred ninety-four-d of this article. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2994-A
  • Surrogate list: means the list set forth in subdivision one of section twenty-nine hundred ninety-four-d of this article. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2994-A

2. If an attending practitioner has actual notice of the following objections or disagreements, he or she shall promptly refer the matter to the ethics review committee if the objection or disagreement cannot otherwise be resolved:

(a) A health or social services practitioner consulted for a concurring determination that an adult patient lacks decision-making capacity disagrees with the attending practitioner's determination; or

(b) Any person on the surrogate list objects to the designation of the surrogate pursuant to subdivision one of section twenty-nine hundred ninety-four-d of this article; or

(c) Any person on the surrogate list objects to a surrogate's decision; or

(d) A parent or guardian of a minor patient objects to the decision by another parent or guardian of the minor; or

(e) A minor patient refuses life-sustaining treatment, and the minor's parent or guardian wishes the treatment to be provided, or the minor patient objects to an attending practitioner's determination about decision-making capacity or recommendation about life-sustaining treatment.

3. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section or subdivision one of section twenty-nine hundred ninety-four-q of this article, if a surrogate directs the provision of life-sustaining treatment, the denial of which in reasonable medical judgment would be likely to result in the death of the patient, a hospital or individual health care provider that does not wish to provide such treatment shall nonetheless comply with the surrogate's decision pending either transfer of the patient to a willing hospital or individual health care provider, or judicial review in accordance with section twenty-nine hundred ninety-four-r of this article.

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