CHAPTER 137-J WRITTEN DIRECTIVES FOR MEDICAL DECISION MAKING FOR ADULTS WITHOUT CAPACITY TO MAKE HEALTH CARE DECISIONS
Do Not Resuscitate
Section 137-J:25
137-J:25 Presumed Consent to Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation; Health Care Providers and Residential Care Providers Not Required to Expand to Provide Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. –
I. Every person shall be presumed to consent to the administration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the event of cardiac or respiratory arrest, unless one or more of the following conditions, of which the health care provider or residential care provider has actual knowledge, apply:
(a) A do not resuscitate order in accordance with the provisions of this chapter has been issued for that person;
(b) A completed advance directive for that person is in effect, pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, in which the person indicated a wish not to receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or the principal's agent or surrogate has determined that the person would not wish to receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation;
(c) A person who lacks capacity to make health care decisions is actively dying and admitted to a health care facility, and the person's agent or surrogate is not available and the facility has made diligent efforts to contact the agent or surrogate without success, or the person's agent or surrogate is not legally capable of making health care decisions for the person, and the attending practitioner and a physician knowledgeable about the patient's condition, have determined that the provision of cardiopulmonary resuscitation would be contrary to accepted medical standards and would cause unnecessary harm to the person, and the attending practitioner has completed a do not resuscitate order; or
(d) A person is under treatment solely by spiritual means through prayer in accordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized church or religious denomination by a duly accredited practitioner thereof.
(e) The application of cardiopulmonary resuscitation would clearly be medically futile based on accepted medical standards.
II. Nothing in this section shall be construed to revoke any statute, regulation, or law otherwise requiring or exempting a health care provider or residential care provider from instituting or maintaining the ability to provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation or expanding its existing equipment, facilities, or personnel to provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation.