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History
- Recommit, enacting clause stricken
- Referred to health
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Relates to restoring medical futility as a basis for DNR
In Assembly Committee · Health · Sponsor Richard Gottfried
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S4796
Title of bill
An act to amend the public health law and the surrogate's court procedure act, in relation to restoring medical futility as a basis for both surrogate consent to a do not resuscitate order and for a do not resuscitate order for a patient without a surrogate
Purpose of general idea of bill
This is one of a series of seven bills, informally referred to as the "Surrogate Decision-Making Improvement Acts." The bills make technical/minor, clarifying and coordinating amendments and other improvements to the NYS laws that govern health care decisions, including life-sustaining treatment decisions, for patients who lack decision-making capacity. The SDMIAs address these topics:
Read the full memo (697 words)
*SDMIA 1 Technical / Minor Amendments *SDMIA 2 Repeals PHL Art. 29-B Orders Not to Resuscitate for Patients in Mental Hygiene Facilities *SDMIA 3 Determining Patient Incapacity *SDMIA 4 Decisions by a Health Care Agent About Artificial Nutrition and Hydration *SDMIA 5 Confirm the Primacy of a Patient's Clear Prior Decision *SDMIA 6 Restore Medical Futility as a Basis for a DNR Order *SDMIA 7 Life-Sustaining Treatment Decisions for Developmentally Disabled Persons
This bill, SDMIA 6, restores the medical futility standard from former PHL Art. 29-B as a basis for surrogate consent to a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order and for a DNR order for a patient without a surrogate.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1 sets forth the legislative intent.
Section 2 amends PHL § 2994-d.5(a) to restore one of the bases in the former DNR Law (PHL Art. 29B) for when a surrogate may consent to DNR order: i.e. when there is a determination by the attending physician and a concurring physician that resuscitation would be unsuccessful in restoring cardiac and respiratory function or that the patient will experience repeated arrest in a short time period before death occurs (hereinafter referred to as "medical futility")
Section 3 amends PHL § 2994-g.5(b) to restore medical futility as a basis for a DNR order for a patient who does not have a surrogate.
Section 4 amends SCPA § 1750-b.4(b): to restore medical futility as a basis for surrogate consent to a DNR order for a developmentally disabled person.
Section 5 amends SCPA § 1750-b.4(f) to restore medical futility as a basis for a DNR order for a developmentally disabled patient who does not have a surrogate, without need for approval by a surrogate decision making committee convened pursuant to the MHL Article 80.
Section 6 is the effective date.
Justification
Under the former DNR law (PHL Art 29-B), a surrogate could consent to a DNR order if the patient met any one of four clinical criteria, one of which was a finding by two physicians that resuscitation "will be unsuccessful in restoring cardiac and respiratory function or that the patient will experience repeated arrest in a short time period before death occurs." The former DNR law also allowed a DNR order to be entered for a patient who did not have a surrogate on that basis. That law applied to all patients, including developmentally disabled patients.
The FHCDA, in contrast, establishes standards for the withdrawal or withholding of a broad range of life-sustaining treatment. Accordingly it does not have a standard specifically relating to medically futile resuscitation. Chapter 8 of the laws of 2010 made the FHCDA apply to DNR orders for most patient in hospitals and nursing homes.
Similarly SCPA § 1750-b does not have a standard specifically relating to medically futile resuscitation. Chapter 8 of the laws of 2010 made SCPA § 1750-b apply to DNR orders for developmentally disabled patients. Experience has shown that the broader FHCDA and SCPA 1750-b standards, especially the standards for patients who do not have surrogates, can be difficult to apply to decisions about resuscitation. This bill would restore the former DNR law's medical futility standard as an alternative basis for writing a DNR order under the FHCDA and under SCPA § 1750-b.
Prior legislative history
S. 7156 of 2014; S.5321 (Sen. Hannon) (2013)/ A.7371 (M. of A. Gottfried)(2013) included all of these provisions, as well as other provisions.
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.