Advance medical directives; clarifies authority. (SB275)
Introduced By
Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple (D-Arlington)
Progress
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Introduced |
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Passed Committee |
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Passed House |
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Passed Senate |
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Signed by Governor |
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Became Law |
Description
Advance medical directives. Clarifies authority of an advance directive in cases in which a person is subject to an emergency custody, temporary detention, involuntary admission, or mandatory outpatient treatment order; eliminates the requirement that a second physician or licensed clinical psychologist provide a written certification that a patient is incapable of making an informed decision in cases in which the patient is unconscious or experiencing a profound impairment of conscious function due to trauma, stroke, or other acute physiological condition; adds a provision authorizing a person who has exhibited special care and concern for a patient and is familiar with the patient's beliefs and values to make health care decisions on that patient's behalf if the patient is incapable of making an informed decision; and clarifies the procedure regarding decisions over a patient's protest. This bill also provides that a public guardian may authorize admission of an incapacitated person to a mental health facility in certain situations. View Full Text »
Comments
It has only been 6 months since this bill was last amended and we have no data yet on the changes just made. Why the rush to change it again so soon? Allowing nurse specialists to do capacity evaluations instead of psychologists and M.D.'s who take many courses to learn to do this is a very dangerous proposition. Also nurse specialists and nurse practiioners in hospitals work under supervision and thus can't be considered independent of the M.D's wishes.
Allowing public guardians to "voluntarily" admit their wards to mental hospitals denies due process to their wards and didn't pass last year. Voluntary should mean voluntary.
Getting rid of second opinions in the case of physiologically impacted patients gives too much power to one person over life and death.
This will assist persons needing care to have access to care in situations where otherwise care is delayed unnecessarily.
Care is not forced treatment. Forced drugging is not care. This bill which passed the Senate unamended will allow one doctor in some cases to determine incapicity, allows unqualified nurse practioners and nurses specialists to determine capacity, this is not about access to care mostly, this is about taking away civil rights from people with disabilities and people with psychiatric labels and the general public when ill or in an accident.