Senate Bill 1078c1
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Florida Senate - 1998 CS for SB 1078
By the Committee on Health Care and Senator McKay
317-2059A-98
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to life-prolonging techniques;
3 amending s. 401.45, F.S., providing additional
4 grounds for withholding or withdrawing
5 life-prolonging techniques from a patient by a
6 medical technician or paramedic; authorizing
7 the Department of Health to adopt rules
8 governing additional grounds for the
9 withholding or withdrawing of resuscitation or
10 life-prolonging techniques from a patient by an
11 emergency medical technician or paramedic;
12 revising immunity from administrative action,
13 criminal prosecution, or civil liability for
14 the withholding or withdrawing of resuscitation
15 or life-prolonging techniques; providing an
16 effective date.
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18 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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20 Section 1. Section 401.45, Florida Statutes, is
21 amended to read:
22 401.45 Denial of emergency treatment; civil
23 liability.--
24 (1)(a) Except as provided in subsection (3), a person
25 may not be denied needed prehospital treatment or transport
26 from any licensee for an emergency medical condition.
27 (b) A person may not be denied treatment for any
28 emergency medical condition that will deteriorate from a
29 failure to provide such treatment at any general hospital
30 licensed under chapter 395 or at any specialty hospital that
31 has an emergency room.
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 1998 CS for SB 1078
317-2059A-98
1 (2) A hospital or its employees or any physician or
2 dentist responding to an apparent need for emergency treatment
3 under this section is not liable in any action arising out of
4 a refusal to render emergency treatment or care if reasonable
5 care is exercised in determining the condition of the person
6 and in determining the appropriateness of the facilities and
7 the qualifications and availability of personnel to render
8 such treatment.
9 (3)(a) Resuscitation or life-prolonging techniques may
10 be withheld or withdrawn from a patient by an emergency
11 medical technician or paramedic if:
12 1. Evidence of an order not to resuscitate by the
13 patient's physician is presented to the emergency medical
14 technician or paramedic in a manner provided by rule of the
15 department; or
16 2. Evidence of a living will is presented to the
17 emergency medical technician or paramedic which identifies the
18 patient and that separately and specifically in enhanced bold
19 letters provides a declaration of the patient's wishes that
20 resuscitation efforts not be initiated by an emergency medical
21 technician or paramedic if the patient suffers respiratory or
22 cardiac arrest. Such declaration, included in the patient's
23 living will, must comply with rules of the department and must
24 include the patient's full legal name, typed or printed; must
25 be dated with an effective date that predates the date that
26 the emergency medical assistance is requested; must include
27 written verification by the patient's attending physician, in
28 consultation with a second physician, both of whom are
29 licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459, that the patient
30 has a terminal condition pursuant to chapter 765; must be
31 signed and dated by the patient, if competent, or, if the
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 1998 CS for SB 1078
317-2059A-98
1 patient is incompetent, by the patient's health care surrogate
2 or legal guardian pursuant to chapter 765; must be signed and
3 dated by at least two witnesses, neither of whom may be the
4 patient's physician or consulting physician for purposes of
5 determining the patient's terminal condition, the patient's
6 health care surrogate, or any employee or agent of a facility
7 licensed under chapter 393 or chapter 400 under whose care the
8 patient is in at the time of the emergency medical services
9 response. The department shall adopt rules to administer this
10 subparagraph.
11 (b) Any emergency medical technician or paramedic who
12 acts under the direction of a medical director, or any
13 licensee, physician, or medical director, or emergency medical
14 technician or paramedic who acts under the direction of a
15 medical director is not subject to criminal prosecution or
16 civil liability, and is not subject to disciplinary action
17 under chapter 401, chapter 455, chapter 458, or chapter 459
18 has not engaged in negligent or unprofessional conduct, as a
19 result of acting in good faith to withhold or withdraw the
20 withholding or withdrawal of resuscitation or life-prolonging
21 techniques from a patient pursuant to this subsection and
22 rules adopted by the department.
23 (4) Any licensee or emergency medical technician or
24 paramedic who in good faith provides emergency medical care or
25 treatment within the scope of their employment and pursuant to
26 oral or written instructions of a medical director shall be
27 deemed to be providing emergency medical care or treatment for
28 the purposes of s. 768.13(2)(b).
29 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 1998.
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 1998 CS for SB 1078
317-2059A-98
1 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
2 Senate Bill 1078
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4 The committee substitute provides that life-prolonging
techniques may be withheld or withdrawn from a patient by an
5 emergency medical technician or paramedic if evidence of a
living will expressing the patient's wish not to receive
6 life-prolonging procedures is presented to the emergency
medical technician or paramedic and the declaration of the
7 living will complies with specified procedures which include:
a declaration of the patient's wishes that resuscitation
8 efforts not be initiated in the event the patient suffers
respiratory or cardiac arrest; the patient's full legal name,
9 typed or printed; an effective date which predates the date
emergency medical assistance is requested; under procedures
10 specified in ch. 765, F.S., written verification that the
patient has a terminal condition by the patient's attending
11 physician, in consultation with a second physician, both of
whom are licensed medical or osteopathic physicians; signed
12 and dated by the patient, if competent, or if the patient is
incompetent, by the patient's health care surrogate or legal
13 guardian pursuant to the requirements of ch. 765, F.S.; and
signed and dated by at least two witnesses.
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The committee substitute requires the Department of Health to
15 adopt administrative rules governing the additional grounds
for withholding or withdrawing resuscitation or
16 life-prolonging techniques from a patient. The committee
substitute revises immunity from administrative action,
17 criminal prosecution, or civil liability for withholding or
withdrawing of resuscitation or life-prolonging techniques.
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