HEALTH SURROGATE-POLST CHANGES

Amends the Health Care Surrogate Act. Changes certain uses of the term "qualified physician" to "qualified health care practitioner". Provides that execution of a POLST form shall not be a requirement for admission to any facility or a precondition to the provision of services by any provider of health care services. Provides that an individual may revoke a document directing that resuscitating efforts shall not be implemented. In a Section regarding Department of Public Health Uniform POLST forms, changes the definition of "attending health care practitioner". Provides that a health care provider facility shall comply with a POLST form, National POLST form, another state's POLST Paradigm portable medical orders form, or an out-of-hospital Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order sanctioned by a State in the United States that: has been executed by an adult; and is apparent and immediately available. Provides that before voiding or revoking a uniform practitioner orders for life-sustaining treatment (POLST) form, National POLST form, or another state's POLST Paradigm portable medical orders form consented to by the individual, that individual's legally authorized surrogate decision maker shall first: engage in consultation with the attending health care practitioner; consult the patient's advance directive, if available; and make a good faith effort to act consistently, at all times, with the patient's known wishes, or, if the patient's wishes are not known, using substituted judgment as the standard. Provides that when an individual's legally authorized surrogate is making a good faith effort to act consistently with the patient's known wishes to void or revoke a POLST form, if the patient's wishes are unknown and remain unknown after reasonable efforts to discern them, the decision shall be made on the basis of the patient's best interests as determined by the surrogate decision maker. Senate Floor Amendment No. 1 Replaces everything after the enacting clause with the provisions of the introduced bill, and makes the following changes: Deletes the definition of "qualified physician". Defines "physician" as a physician licensed to practice medicine in all its branches in the State. Allows a surrogate decision maker to execute a POLST portable medical orders form to forgo life sustaining treatment. In a Section regarding Department of Public Health Uniform POLST forms, deletes the definition of "attending health care practitioner" and replaces references to "attending health care practitioner" with "qualified health care practitioner". Replaces "POLST Paradigm portable medical orders form" with "POLST portable medical orders form". Provides that certain requirements regarding the revocation of a POLST form do not apply to an individual wanting to revoke his or her own POLST form.