An Act relative to determining capacity and invoking the health care proxy

This bill expands the role of nurse practitioners in Massachusetts health care decision-making by allowing them to act as the "attending" provider for determining a patient's capacity to make medical choices. Specifically, it amends existing state laws to include nurse practitioners alongside physicians when deciding who can invoke a health care proxy or assess a patient's ability to consent to treatment. The changes apply to various sections of the relevant chapter, ensuring that nurse practitioners with primary responsibility for a patient's care have the same authority as doctors in these critical situations.