"Advance directive" means (i) a witnessed written document, voluntarilyexecuted by the declarant in accordance with the requirements of § 54.1-2983or (ii) a witnessed oral statement, made by the declarant subsequent to thetime he is diagnosed as suffering from a terminal condition and in accordancewith the provisions of § 54.1-2983.
"Agent" means an adult appointed by the declarant under an advancedirective, executed or made in accordance with the provisions of § 54.1-2983,to make health care decisions for him. The declarant may also appoint anadult to make, after the declarant's death, an anatomical gift of all or anypart of his body pursuant to Article 2 (§ 32.1-289.2 et seq.) of Chapter 8 ofTitle 32.1.
"Attending physician" means the primary physician who has responsibilityfor the health care of the patient.
"Capacity reviewer" means a licensed physician or clinical psychologist whois qualified by training or experience to assess whether a person is capableor incapable of making an informed decision.
"Declarant" means an adult who makes an advance directive, as defined inthis article, while capable of making and communicating an informed decision.
"Durable Do Not Resuscitate Order" means a written physician's order issuedpursuant to § 54.1-2987.1 to withhold cardiopulmonary resuscitation from aparticular patient in the event of cardiac or respiratory arrest. Forpurposes of this article, cardiopulmonary resuscitation shall include cardiaccompression, endotracheal intubation and other advanced airway management,artificial ventilation, and defibrillation and related procedures. As theterms "advance directive" and "Durable Do Not Resuscitate Order" are usedin this article, a Durable Do Not Resuscitate Order is not and shall not beconstrued as an advance directive.
"Health care" means the furnishing of services to any individual for thepurpose of preventing, alleviating, curing, or healing human illness, injuryor physical disability, including but not limited to, medications; surgery;blood transfusions; chemotherapy; radiation therapy; admission to a hospital,nursing home, assisted living facility, or other health care facility;psychiatric or other mental health treatment; and life-prolonging proceduresand palliative care.
"Incapable of making an informed decision" means the inability of an adultpatient, because of mental illness, mental retardation, or any other mentalor physical disorder that precludes communication or impairs judgment, tomake an informed decision about providing, continuing, withholding orwithdrawing a specific health care treatment or course of treatment becausehe is unable to understand the nature, extent or probable consequences of theproposed health care decision, or to make a rational evaluation of the risksand benefits of alternatives to that decision. For purposes of this article,persons who are deaf, dysphasic or have other communication disorders, whoare otherwise mentally competent and able to communicate by means other thanspeech, shall not be considered incapable of making an informed decision.
"Life-prolonging procedure" means any medical procedure, treatment orintervention which (i) utilizes mechanical or other artificial means tosustain, restore or supplant a spontaneous vital function, or is otherwise ofsuch a nature as to afford a patient no reasonable expectation of recoveryfrom a terminal condition and (ii) when applied to a patient in a terminalcondition, would serve only to prolong the dying process. The term includesartificially administered hydration and nutrition. However, nothing in thisact shall prohibit the administration of medication or the performance of anymedical procedure deemed necessary to provide comfort care or to alleviatepain, including the administration of pain relieving medications in excess ofrecommended dosages in accordance with §§ 54.1-2971.01 and 54.1-3408.1. Forpurposes of §§ 54.1-2988, 54.1-2989, and 54.1-2991, the term also shallinclude cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
"Patient care consulting committee" means a committee duly organized by afacility licensed to provide health care under Title 32.1 or Title 37.2, or ahospital or nursing home as defined in § 32.1-123 owned or operated by anagency of the Commonwealth that is exempt from licensure pursuant to §32.1-124, to consult on health care issues only as authorized in thisarticle. Each patient care consulting committee shall consist of fiveindividuals, including at least one physician, one person licensed or holdinga multistate licensure privilege under Chapter 30 (§ 54.1-3000 et seq.) topractice professional nursing, and one individual responsible for theprovision of social services to patients of the facility. At least onecommittee member shall have experience in clinical ethics and at least twocommittee members shall have no employment or contractual relationship withthe facility or any involvement in the management, operations, or governanceof the facility, other than serving on the patient care consulting committee.A patient care consulting committee may be organized as a subcommittee of astanding ethics or other committee established by the facility or may be aseparate and distinct committee. Four members of the patient care consultingcommittee shall constitute a quorum of the patient care consulting committee.
"Persistent vegetative state" means a condition caused by injury, diseaseor illness in which a patient has suffered a loss of consciousness, with nobehavioral evidence of self-awareness or awareness of surroundings in alearned manner, other than reflex activity of muscles and nerves for lowlevel conditioned response, and from which, to a reasonable degree of medicalprobability, there can be no recovery.
"Physician" means a person licensed to practice medicine in theCommonwealth of Virginia or in the jurisdiction where the health care is tobe rendered or withheld.
"Terminal condition" means a condition caused by injury, disease or illnessfrom which, to a reasonable degree of medical probability a patient cannotrecover and (i) the patient's death is imminent or (ii) the patient is in apersistent vegetative state.
"Witness" means any person over the age of 18, including a spouse or bloodrelative of the declarant. Employees of health care facilities andphysician's offices, who act in good faith, shall be permitted to serve aswitnesses for purposes of this article.
(1983, c. 532, § 54-325.8:2; 1984, c. 79; 1988, c. 765; 1991, c. 583; 1992,cc. 412, 748, 772; 1994, c. 956; 1997, c. 609; 1998, cc. 630, 803, 854; 1999,c. 814; 2000, c. 1034; 2005, c. 186; 2007, cc. 92, 907; 2009, cc. 211, 268;2010, c. 792.)
"Advance directive" means (i) a witnessed written document, voluntarilyexecuted by the declarant in accordance with the requirements of § 54.1-2983or (ii) a witnessed oral statement, made by the declarant subsequent to thetime he is diagnosed as suffering from a terminal condition and in accordancewith the provisions of § 54.1-2983.
"Agent" means an adult appointed by the declarant under an advancedirective, executed or made in accordance with the provisions of § 54.1-2983,to make health care decisions for him. The declarant may also appoint anadult to make, after the declarant's death, an anatomical gift of all or anypart of his body pursuant to Article 2 (§ 32.1-289.2 et seq.) of Chapter 8 ofTitle 32.1.
"Attending physician" means the primary physician who has responsibilityfor the health care of the patient.
"Capacity reviewer" means a licensed physician or clinical psychologist whois qualified by training or experience to assess whether a person is capableor incapable of making an informed decision.
"Declarant" means an adult who makes an advance directive, as defined inthis article, while capable of making and communicating an informed decision.
"Durable Do Not Resuscitate Order" means a written physician's order issuedpursuant to § 54.1-2987.1 to withhold cardiopulmonary resuscitation from aparticular patient in the event of cardiac or respiratory arrest. Forpurposes of this article, cardiopulmonary resuscitation shall include cardiaccompression, endotracheal intubation and other advanced airway management,artificial ventilation, and defibrillation and related procedures. As theterms "advance directive" and "Durable Do Not Resuscitate Order" are usedin this article, a Durable Do Not Resuscitate Order is not and shall not beconstrued as an advance directive.
"Health care" means the furnishing of services to any individual for thepurpose of preventing, alleviating, curing, or healing human illness, injuryor physical disability, including but not limited to, medications; surgery;blood transfusions; chemotherapy; radiation therapy; admission to a hospital,nursing home, assisted living facility, or other health care facility;psychiatric or other mental health treatment; and life-prolonging proceduresand palliative care.
"Incapable of making an informed decision" means the inability of an adultpatient, because of mental illness, mental retardation, or any other mentalor physical disorder that precludes communication or impairs judgment, tomake an informed decision about providing, continuing, withholding orwithdrawing a specific health care treatment or course of treatment becausehe is unable to understand the nature, extent or probable consequences of theproposed health care decision, or to make a rational evaluation of the risksand benefits of alternatives to that decision. For purposes of this article,persons who are deaf, dysphasic or have other communication disorders, whoare otherwise mentally competent and able to communicate by means other thanspeech, shall not be considered incapable of making an informed decision.
"Life-prolonging procedure" means any medical procedure, treatment orintervention which (i) utilizes mechanical or other artificial means tosustain, restore or supplant a spontaneous vital function, or is otherwise ofsuch a nature as to afford a patient no reasonable expectation of recoveryfrom a terminal condition and (ii) when applied to a patient in a terminalcondition, would serve only to prolong the dying process. The term includesartificially administered hydration and nutrition. However, nothing in thisact shall prohibit the administration of medication or the performance of anymedical procedure deemed necessary to provide comfort care or to alleviatepain, including the administration of pain relieving medications in excess ofrecommended dosages in accordance with §§ 54.1-2971.01 and 54.1-3408.1. Forpurposes of §§ 54.1-2988, 54.1-2989, and 54.1-2991, the term also shallinclude cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
"Patient care consulting committee" means a committee duly organized by afacility licensed to provide health care under Title 32.1 or Title 37.2, or ahospital or nursing home as defined in § 32.1-123 owned or operated by anagency of the Commonwealth that is exempt from licensure pursuant to §32.1-124, to consult on health care issues only as authorized in thisarticle. Each patient care consulting committee shall consist of fiveindividuals, including at least one physician, one person licensed or holdinga multistate licensure privilege under Chapter 30 (§ 54.1-3000 et seq.) topractice professional nursing, and one individual responsible for theprovision of social services to patients of the facility. At least onecommittee member shall have experience in clinical ethics and at least twocommittee members shall have no employment or contractual relationship withthe facility or any involvement in the management, operations, or governanceof the facility, other than serving on the patient care consulting committee.A patient care consulting committee may be organized as a subcommittee of astanding ethics or other committee established by the facility or may be aseparate and distinct committee. Four members of the patient care consultingcommittee shall constitute a quorum of the patient care consulting committee.
"Persistent vegetative state" means a condition caused by injury, diseaseor illness in which a patient has suffered a loss of consciousness, with nobehavioral evidence of self-awareness or awareness of surroundings in alearned manner, other than reflex activity of muscles and nerves for lowlevel conditioned response, and from which, to a reasonable degree of medicalprobability, there can be no recovery.
"Physician" means a person licensed to practice medicine in theCommonwealth of Virginia or in the jurisdiction where the health care is tobe rendered or withheld.
"Terminal condition" means a condition caused by injury, disease or illnessfrom which, to a reasonable degree of medical probability a patient cannotrecover and (i) the patient's death is imminent or (ii) the patient is in apersistent vegetative state.
"Witness" means any person over the age of 18, including a spouse or bloodrelative of the declarant. Employees of health care facilities andphysician's offices, who act in good faith, shall be permitted to serve aswitnesses for purposes of this article.
(1983, c. 532, § 54-325.8:2; 1984, c. 79; 1988, c. 765; 1991, c. 583; 1992,cc. 412, 748, 772; 1994, c. 956; 1997, c. 609; 1998, cc. 630, 803, 854; 1999,c. 814; 2000, c. 1034; 2005, c. 186; 2007, cc. 92, 907; 2009, cc. 211, 268;2010, c. 792.)
"Advance directive" means (i) a witnessed written document, voluntarilyexecuted by the declarant in accordance with the requirements of § 54.1-2983or (ii) a witnessed oral statement, made by the declarant subsequent to thetime he is diagnosed as suffering from a terminal condition and in accordancewith the provisions of § 54.1-2983.
"Agent" means an adult appointed by the declarant under an advancedirective, executed or made in accordance with the provisions of § 54.1-2983,to make health care decisions for him. The declarant may also appoint anadult to make, after the declarant's death, an anatomical gift of all or anypart of his body pursuant to Article 2 (§ 32.1-289.2 et seq.) of Chapter 8 ofTitle 32.1.
"Attending physician" means the primary physician who has responsibilityfor the health care of the patient.
"Capacity reviewer" means a licensed physician or clinical psychologist whois qualified by training or experience to assess whether a person is capableor incapable of making an informed decision.
"Declarant" means an adult who makes an advance directive, as defined inthis article, while capable of making and communicating an informed decision.
"Durable Do Not Resuscitate Order" means a written physician's order issuedpursuant to § 54.1-2987.1 to withhold cardiopulmonary resuscitation from aparticular patient in the event of cardiac or respiratory arrest. Forpurposes of this article, cardiopulmonary resuscitation shall include cardiaccompression, endotracheal intubation and other advanced airway management,artificial ventilation, and defibrillation and related procedures. As theterms "advance directive" and "Durable Do Not Resuscitate Order" are usedin this article, a Durable Do Not Resuscitate Order is not and shall not beconstrued as an advance directive.
"Health care" means the furnishing of services to any individual for thepurpose of preventing, alleviating, curing, or healing human illness, injuryor physical disability, including but not limited to, medications; surgery;blood transfusions; chemotherapy; radiation therapy; admission to a hospital,nursing home, assisted living facility, or other health care facility;psychiatric or other mental health treatment; and life-prolonging proceduresand palliative care.
"Incapable of making an informed decision" means the inability of an adultpatient, because of mental illness, mental retardation, or any other mentalor physical disorder that precludes communication or impairs judgment, tomake an informed decision about providing, continuing, withholding orwithdrawing a specific health care treatment or course of treatment becausehe is unable to understand the nature, extent or probable consequences of theproposed health care decision, or to make a rational evaluation of the risksand benefits of alternatives to that decision. For purposes of this article,persons who are deaf, dysphasic or have other communication disorders, whoare otherwise mentally competent and able to communicate by means other thanspeech, shall not be considered incapable of making an informed decision.
"Life-prolonging procedure" means any medical procedure, treatment orintervention which (i) utilizes mechanical or other artificial means tosustain, restore or supplant a spontaneous vital function, or is otherwise ofsuch a nature as to afford a patient no reasonable expectation of recoveryfrom a terminal condition and (ii) when applied to a patient in a terminalcondition, would serve only to prolong the dying process. The term includesartificially administered hydration and nutrition. However, nothing in thisact shall prohibit the administration of medication or the performance of anymedical procedure deemed necessary to provide comfort care or to alleviatepain, including the administration of pain relieving medications in excess ofrecommended dosages in accordance with §§ 54.1-2971.01 and 54.1-3408.1. Forpurposes of §§ 54.1-2988, 54.1-2989, and 54.1-2991, the term also shallinclude cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
"Patient care consulting committee" means a committee duly organized by afacility licensed to provide health care under Title 32.1 or Title 37.2, or ahospital or nursing home as defined in § 32.1-123 owned or operated by anagency of the Commonwealth that is exempt from licensure pursuant to §32.1-124, to consult on health care issues only as authorized in thisarticle. Each patient care consulting committee shall consist of fiveindividuals, including at least one physician, one person licensed or holdinga multistate licensure privilege under Chapter 30 (§ 54.1-3000 et seq.) topractice professional nursing, and one individual responsible for theprovision of social services to patients of the facility. At least onecommittee member shall have experience in clinical ethics and at least twocommittee members shall have no employment or contractual relationship withthe facility or any involvement in the management, operations, or governanceof the facility, other than serving on the patient care consulting committee.A patient care consulting committee may be organized as a subcommittee of astanding ethics or other committee established by the facility or may be aseparate and distinct committee. Four members of the patient care consultingcommittee shall constitute a quorum of the patient care consulting committee.
"Persistent vegetative state" means a condition caused by injury, diseaseor illness in which a patient has suffered a loss of consciousness, with nobehavioral evidence of self-awareness or awareness of surroundings in alearned manner, other than reflex activity of muscles and nerves for lowlevel conditioned response, and from which, to a reasonable degree of medicalprobability, there can be no recovery.
"Physician" means a person licensed to practice medicine in theCommonwealth of Virginia or in the jurisdiction where the health care is tobe rendered or withheld.
"Terminal condition" means a condition caused by injury, disease or illnessfrom which, to a reasonable degree of medical probability a patient cannotrecover and (i) the patient's death is imminent or (ii) the patient is in apersistent vegetative state.
"Witness" means any person over the age of 18, including a spouse or bloodrelative of the declarant. Employees of health care facilities andphysician's offices, who act in good faith, shall be permitted to serve aswitnesses for purposes of this article.
(1983, c. 532, § 54-325.8:2; 1984, c. 79; 1988, c. 765; 1991, c. 583; 1992,cc. 412, 748, 772; 1994, c. 956; 1997, c. 609; 1998, cc. 630, 803, 854; 1999,c. 814; 2000, c. 1034; 2005, c. 186; 2007, cc. 92, 907; 2009, cc. 211, 268;2010, c. 792.)
