Senate Bill 2052
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 1999 SB 2052
By Senators Lee, Bronson, Sebesta, Cowin, Webster, Laurent,
Grant and Childers
12-922-99
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to health care; amending ss.
3 765.106, 765.305, F.S.; requiring a health care
4 provider or facility to provide certain
5 treatment if it refuses to comply with a
6 patient's declaration or treatment decision;
7 providing an effective date.
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9 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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11 Section 1. Section 765.106, Florida Statutes, is
12 amended to read:
13 765.106 Preservation of existing rights.--The
14 provisions of this chapter are cumulative to the existing law
15 regarding an individual's right to consent, or refuse to
16 consent, to medical treatment and do not impair any existing
17 rights or responsibilities that which a health care provider,
18 a patient, including a minor, competent or incompetent person,
19 or a patient's family may have under the common law, Federal
20 Constitution, State Constitution, or statutes of this state.
21 However, this section does not authorize any violation of s.
22 765.308.
23 Section 2. Section 765.308, Florida Statutes, is
24 amended to read:
25 765.308 Transfer of a patient.--
26 (1) A health care provider or facility that refuses to
27 comply with the declaration of a patient, or the treatment
28 decision of his or her surrogate, shall make reasonable
29 efforts to transfer the patient to another health care
30 provider or facility that will comply with the declaration or
31 treatment decision. This chapter does not require a health
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Florida Senate - 1999 SB 2052
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1 care provider or facility to commit any act which is contrary
2 to the provider's or facility's moral or ethical beliefs
3 concerning life-prolonging procedures, if the patient:
4 (a) Is not in an emergency condition, and
5 (b) Has received written information upon admission
6 informing the patient of the policies of the health care
7 provider or facility regarding such moral or ethical beliefs.
8 (2) A health care provider or facility that is
9 unwilling to carry out the wishes of the patient because of
10 moral or ethical beliefs must within 7 days either:
11 (a) Transfer the patient to another health care
12 provider or facility. The health care provider or facility
13 shall pay the costs for transporting the patient to another
14 health care provider or facility; or
15 (b) If the patient has not been transferred, carry out
16 the wishes of the patient or the patient's surrogate, unless
17 the provisions of s. 765.105 apply.
18 (3) If the failure to comply with a declaration or
19 treatment decision would in reasonable medical judgment likely
20 result in the death of the patient, a health care provider or
21 facility that is unwilling to comply must provide treatment
22 that in reasonable medical judgment is necessary to prevent
23 the death of the patient pending completion of the transfer of
24 the patient to a provider or facility willing to comply. This
25 subsection does not require the provision of treatment that
26 the provider or facility is physically or legally unable to
27 provide or is physically or legally unable to provide without
28 denying the same treatment to another patient.
29 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 1999.
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Florida Senate - 1999 SB 2052
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2 SENATE SUMMARY
3 Provides that if a health provider or facility refuses to
comply with a patient's declaration regarding treatment
4 decisions and such refusal would likely result in the
patient's death, the provider or facility must provide
5 treatment that in reasonable medical judgment is
necessary to prevent the patient's death until he can be
6 transferred to a provider or facility that is willing to
comply with the patient's treatment decision.
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