New York Health Care Law - DO NOT RESUSCITATE ORDERS (DNR) - Advance Medical Directive
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Advance Health Care Directive, New York Health Care Law - DO NOT RESUSCITATE ORDERS (DNR) - Advance Medical Directive |
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New York Health Care Law - DO NOT RESUSCITATE ORDERS (DNR)Under New York law, a DNR Order instructs medical professionals not to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), that is, emergency treatment to restart your heart or lungs when your heartbeat or breathing stops.10 This means that doctors, nurses, or emergency personnel (i.e, ambulance paramedics) will not initiate emergency procedures such as mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, external chest compression, electric shock, insertion of tube to open your airway, or injection of medication into your heart or open chest. You can get a DNR Order or make your DNR wishes known in your Living Will or Health Care Proxy. In New York, any adult 18 years or older can get a Hospital or a Non-Hospital DNR Order. A Hospital DNR Order is issued if you are in a health care facility such as a hospital, nursing home, or a mental hygiene facility licensed by New York State. But if you are outside any of these facilities, at home, in a hospice or a clinic, you may want to get a Non-Hospital DNR Order. Emergency personnel, such as ambulance paramedics must honor your DNR Order during transfer. Giving Consent to a DNR Order If you have capacity to make decisions for yourself, you can give your consent to a DNR Order verbally or in writing. If you lack capacity to make decisions for yourself, your health care agent can consent on your behalf. But what if you become unable to decide about CPR, you did not tell your doctor about your wishes in advance, and you do not have a health care agent or a Living Will? Under New York's DNR law, in such a circumstance, a surrogate, such as a family member or a close friend, can give consent. Q. What is the difference between a health care agent and a surrogate? Under New York law, a health care agent is named by you in your Health Care Proxy and has the authority to accept or reject any medical treatment on your behalf. A surrogate, on the other hand, only has authority to make decisions about CPR and cannot accept or refuse other medical treatments on your behalf. Remember, a surrogate can only give consent to your DNR Order if you do not have a health care agent. (N.Y. Public Health Law ยงยง 2960, 2965, 2966 (McKinney 1993) and 10 NYCRR 405.43 (F) (1) (i). Recent amendments to this statute facilitate the ability of surrogates to consent to DNR Orders for patients in hospice and home care settings.) |
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