Posted on 02/13/2013 8:25:19 PM PST by penelopesire
Forced Do Not Resuscitate Orders Coming to Texas? by Wesley J. Smith | Austin, TX | LifeNews.com | 2/13/13 12:23 PM
Good grief! The state with the worst futile care law in the nation now has legislation pending that would enable doctors to place DNR (do not resuscitate) orders on a patients chart without notice or permission–even if the patient is competent! From the text of S.B. 303:
Sec.A166.012. STATEMENT RELATING TO DO-NOT-RESUSCITATE ORDERS.
(c) Before placing a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order in a patient ’s medical record, the physician or the facility ’s personnel shall make a reasonably diligent effort to contact or cause to be contacted the surrogate. The facility shall establish a policy regarding the notification required under this section. The policy may authorize the notification to be given verbally by a physician or facility personnel. (d)The DNR order takes effect at the time it is written in the patient ’s chart or otherwise placed in the patient ’s medical record. (e) If the patient or surrogate disagrees with the DNR order being placed in or removed from the medical record, the patient or surrogate may request a second opinion at the patient ’s or surrogate ’s expense.
The notification requirement only applies to patients not expected to die within weeks or days. If the patient is expected to die imminently, the obligation to attempt notification and the right to a self-paid second opinion does not exist:
(f) Subsection (c) [the notification section quoted above] does not apply to a DNR order placed in the medical record of a patient:(1) whose death, based on reasonable medical judgment,is imminent despite attempted resuscitation; (2) for whom, based on reasonable medical judgment, resuscitation would be medically ineffective and there is insufficient time to contact the surrogate;…
Subsection (e) [right to obtain second opinion] does not apply to a DNR order placed in the medical record of a patient with respect to whom, based on reasonable medical judgment, death is expected in days to weeks and resuscitation would be medically ineffective.
What does “medically ineffective” mean? It isn’t defined. Moreover, it couldn’t be the same as “imminent despite attempted resuscitation,” or that language would have been repeated. Given the justifications for futile care arguments, this could reflect a judgment based on “quality of life” rather than the resuscitation being physiologically useless.
Doctors who impose DNRs on charts without permission would be accorded extraordinary legal protection for their mistakes or unilateral inactions:
(i) A physician, health professional acting under the direction of a physician, or health care facility is not civilly or criminally liable or subject to review or disciplinary action by the appropriate licensing authority if the actor has complied with the procedures under this section…
So, even if the physicians are negligent in their diagnoses, so long as they follow the procedure, they are home free? This would mean that there would be no checks and balances in an issue of life and death!
Rest at link.
Lawyers are going to love it, and get rich off it suing the Hospitals and the Docs.
The doctor’s receptionist asked me today if I wanted one and I told them know.
Now I’m thinking that I *have* to get one with my wishes expressed just to stop this crap from happening.
What sucks is that I trust my husband and he trusts me. We both realize that situations can be unpredictable and fluid and we both wanted to give the other the freedom to act in our best interests. A “do everything to keep me alive” order can be harmful.
Hubby just asked what the ‘second opinion’ is all about...I just said I guess whether you get to live or die...lol!
Pray for our country!
I was resuscitated 3 times about 8 or 9 years ago, here in TX. Glad that new law wasn’t in force then. However, if it happens again, guess I’ll just have to go meet my maker.......
The whole thing reads like a bad horror movie. I am going to look into it tomorrow and make some calls to my state rep. This is too vague and dangerous to become law.
The ‘RAT Party of Death is at it again. They aren’t going to be happy until all those not registered as DemocRATS are dead.
So by decree, a physician could literally get away with murder. Who needs death panels when a sole source will do?
Thank you for sharing that true life miracle! We are living in a culture of death and this stuff is being written into law, but folks are too busy watching ‘The Voice’ or ‘Kardashins’ to be bothered.
Shudders.....
I smell a No - Good, Dirty Obama Lovin, Rat in this
it sounds like an orderly could even sign it...lol. Unbelievable!
Me too. I will let you know what I find out.
Bob Duell - A conservative republican says wiki.
What could possibly go wrong? /s
Sounds like a one person death panel to me. I wonder how a death panelist would feel if a condemned patient or members of the condemned patient’s family retaliated lethally against the doctor who condemned him. A few of these lethal retaliations might put a stop to them. Doctors need to carefully consider their oaths. First, do no harm...
??
Bringing those care Pathways to Texas?
death panels!
but folks are too busy watching ‘The Voice’ or ‘Kardashins’ to be bothered.
Given that option, death would be a blessing.
While R.(R for RINO) Perry is out hawking dem voters in California, Texans beware. They are after your state to become blue like Beelzbub himself looking to turn a Christian.
It can happen.
” A reasonably diligent effort” causes me some concern...that is quite vague.
“we left a voicemail and didn’t hear back over the weekend...”
I’m a firm believer that one does not pass until their appointed time, regardless of men’s intention otherwise, but I do not subscribe to codifying subjectivity.
If this is a big problem with unclaimed terminal patients they can make the effort to spell things out clearly and fairly.
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