HOUSE BILL REPORT

SHB 763

BYHouse Committee on Health Care (originally sponsored by Representative Niemi)

Establishing priorities for who may consent to health care for another.

House Committe on Health Care

Majority Report:     The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass.  (10)

     Signed by Braddock, Chair; Day, Vice Chair; Bristow, Brooks, Bumgarner, Cantwell, Lewis, Lux, D. Sommers and Sprenkle.

House Staff:John Welsh (786-7133)

AS PASSED HOUSE MARCH 19, 1987

BACKGROUND:

According to statutory law, a physician and other health care provider must first obtain the informed consent of a patient before rendering health care services.  The inability to obtain such consent from a patient who is incompetent due to some disability may subject the health provider to legal liability.  Informed consent involves a disclosure of the nature of the treatment proposed, anticipated results, alternative forms of treatment and recognized risks.  The law permits a patients' representative to give informed consent on behalf of the incompetent patient but there are no procedures specified for obtaining this consent.

SUMMARY:

Procedures are provided for obtaining the informed consent to make health care decisions on behalf of patients who become incompetent by reason of mental illness, development disability, senility, habitual drunkeness, excessive use of drugs or other mental incapacity.  Physicians may obtain such consent by consulting in the following order of priority a court appointed guardian, a person designated under a durable power of attorney, the patient's spouse, the patient's children if unanimous, the patient's parents if unanimous, or adult brothers and sisters if unanimous.  The physician must make reasonable efforts to locate the above persons to secure authorization to provide health care, and the person providing consent on behalf of the patient must first determine in good faith that the patient would have consented to the proposed health care.  In the absence of this, the physician and authorized person may consent only if it is determined to be in the patient's best interests.

Fiscal Note:    Requested February 9, 1987.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:     Mike Ryland, Washington State Hospital Association and Frank Winslow, Alzheimer's Society of Washington.

House Committee - Testified Against: None Presented.

House Committee - Testimony For:     Physicians are at risk in treating patients who become incompetent due to some disability because of the requirement to obtain their informed consent.  Incompetent patients cannot give such consent and the physician often turns to family members to obtain this consent.  A procedure is needed to allow the physician to consult family members in treating the patient.

House Committee - Testimony Against: None Presented.