END OF LIFE OPTION ACT.

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View NCGA Bill Details2019-2020 Session
House Bill 879 (Public) Filed Tuesday, April 16, 2019
AN ACT ESTABLISHING AN END OF LIFE OPTION ACT TO ALLOW QUALIFIED PATIENTS DIAGNOSED WITH A TERMINAL DISEASE TO END LIFE IN A HUMANE AND DIGNIFIED MANNER.
Intro. by Harrison, Hardister, McGrady, Fisher.

Status: Ref To Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House (House action) (Apr 22 2019)

Bill History:

H 879

Bill Summaries:

  • Summary date: Apr 22 2019 - View Summary

    Enacts new Article 23B, End of Life Option Act (Act), in GS Chapter 90, providing as follows. 

    Sets out terms and definitions used in the Act.

    Gives an individual suffering from an incurable, terminal disease a right to be informed of all available end-of-life options and to receive answers on questions about the foreseeable risks and benefits of medication without the physician withholding any requested information, regardless of the purpose of the inquiry or the nature of the information. Specifies that a physician who engages in such discussions is not construed as assisting in or contributing to a patient's independent decision to self-administer a lethal dose of medication, and prohibits the discussions from being used to establish civil or criminal liability or professional disciplinary action. The act defines terminal disease as an incurable and irreversible disease that has been medically confirmed by the attending physician and will, within reasonable medical judgment, result in death within six months.

    Allows an adult with the capacity to make medical decisions who is suffering from an incurable, terminal disease to request a prescription for a terminal comfort care drug (defined as a controlled substance determined and prescribed by a physician licensed in this state for a qualified individual with the purpose of hastening the qualified individual's death due to a terminal disease) if: (1) the individual has undergone a hospice evaluation; (2) the individual's attending physician has diagnosed the individual to be suffering from an incurable, terminal disease; (3) the individual has voluntarily expressed verbally and in writing the wish to receive a prescription for a terminal comfort care drug; (4) the individual is a state resident; (5) the individual documents his or her request pursuant to the requirements of new GS 90‑326.3 and on the form specified in new GS 90‑326.3A; and (6) the individual has the physical and mental ability to self‑administer drug. Specifies that a person must not be considered a qualified individual under the provisions of this Act solely because of age or disability. Requires that a request for a prescription for a terminal comfort care drug be made solely and directly by the individual diagnosed with the terminal disease and not on behalf of the patient. The act defines a qualified individual as an adult who has the capacity to make medical decisions, is a resident of North Carolina, has undergone a hospice evaluation, and has satisfied the requirements of this Act in order to obtain a prescription for a terminal comfort care drug to hasten death.

    Requires an individual seeking to obtain a prescription for a terminal comfort care drug to submit a verbal request, followed by a written request no later than 10 days after the verbal request, that meets the specified requirements directly to his or her attending physician and not to a designee of the physician. Requires the attending physician to directly, and not through a designee, receive all required requests, and keep records of the requests in the individual's medical file that document the date and time of the request as well as a summary of the request. Specifies items that must be included in order for a written request to be considered valid, including that the request be in the form specified in GS 90‑326.3A.

    Requires that an Attending Witness Completion Form, as specified in the act, be given by the attending physician to the qualified individual at the time the attending physician writes the prescription for a terminal comfort care drug. An attending witness is an individual named by the qualified individual to be present if and when the qualified individual self‑administers the terminal comfort care drug and who undertakes to: (1) complete the Attending Witness Completion Form confirming ingestion of the  drug and the death of the qualified individual and (2) return the Attending Witness Completion Form to the attending physician within 48 hours after the death of the qualified individual. The attending witness may, but need not be (1) related to the qualified individual by blood, adoption, or marriage or (2) a health care provider. Allows, at the discretion of the qualified individual, the attending witness to be the attending physician.

    Allows a qualified individual to discontinue, withdraw, or rescind his or her request for a terminal comfort care drug or decide not to ingest a terminal comfort care drug once obtained, at any time.

    Prohibits any person other than the attending physician from writing a prescription for a terminal comfort care drug. Sets out 11 things the attending physician must be before prescribing a terminal comfort care drug, including: determining that the requesting adult has the capacity to make medical decisions, has a terminal disease, has undergone a hospice evaluation, has voluntarily made the request for the drug on the specified form, and is a qualified individual, and verify, immediately prior to writing the prescription for a terminal comfort care drug, that the qualified individual is making an informed decision and is in no way acting under undue pressure or coercion. Once the 11 specified tasks have been completed, allows the attending physician to deliver the terminal comfort care drug in any of the specified ways.

    Sets out requirements of a mental health specialist, upon referral from the attending or consulting physician. 

    Specifies eight items that must be documented in the qualified individual's medical record.

    Requires the attending physician to submit a copy of the prescription to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) within 48 hours after writing a prescription for a terminal comfort care drug. Requires the pharmacist to submit a copy of the Pharmacist Compliance Form to DHHS within 48 hours after dispensing aterminal comfort care drug. Requires the attending physician to submit to DHHS a copy of the qualifying patient's written request, the Attending Physician Checklist and Compliance Form, and the Consulting Physician Compliance Form within 30 days after writing a prescription for a terminal comfort care drug. Requires the attending physician, within 30 calendar days after the later of (1) the qualified individual's death from ingesting the terminal comfort care drug or from any other cause or (2) the date on which the attending physician receives actual notice of the qualified individual's death from the Attending Witness Completion Form to submit to DHHS an Attending Physician Follow‑Up Form.

    Allows the attending physician to sign the qualified individual's death certificate and requires the cause of death to be recorded as the underlying terminal disease.

    Prohibits the sale, procurement, or issuance of any life, health, or annuity policy, health care service plan contract, or health benefit plan or the rate charged for any policy, plan contract, or benefit plan from being conditioned upon or affected by the making or rescinding of a person's request for a terminal comfort care drug. Specifies that a qualified individual's act of self‑administering a terminal comfort care drug does not have any effect upon a life, health, or annuity policy other than that of a natural death from the underlying disease. Prohibits an insurance carrier from providing any information in communications to a qualified individual about the availability of terminal comfort care drugs absent a request by the qualified individual or the qualified individual's attending physician at the behest of the qualified individual.

    Protects a person from civil or criminal liability or professional disciplinary action for participating in good faith compliance with the activities authorized under this Act or for being present when a qualified individual self‑administers a terminal comfort care drug. Prohibits from considering an individual with a terminal disease who self‑administers a lethal dose of medication as a person exposed to grave physical harm under any Good Samaritan law, and specifies that no person is subject to civil or criminal liability solely for being present when an individual with a terminal disease self‑administers a lethal dose of medication or for failing to act to prevent the patient from self‑administering a lethal dose of medication. Allows a person who is present when an individual with a terminal disease self‑administers a terminal comfort care drug, without civil or criminal liability, to assist the qualified individual at his or her request by preparing the drug as long as the person does not directly assist the qualified person in ingesting or self‑administering the drug. Protects a health care provider, pharmacist, licensing board, or professional organization or association from censure, discipline, suspension, adverse action on a license, loss of privileges, loss of membership, or other penalty for participating in good faith compliance with the activities authorized under this Act or for refusing to participate in activities authorized under this Act. Also protects a health care provider or pharmacist from civil, criminal, administrative, disciplinary, employment, credentialing, professional discipline, contractual liability, or medical staff action, sanction, penalty, or other liability for participating in the activities authorized under this Act, including determining the diagnosis or prognosis of an individual, determining the capacity of an individual for the purpose of determining if he or she is a qualified individual under this Act, providing information about this Act to an individual, and providing a referral to a physician licensed in this state who participates in the activities authorized under this Act.

    Provides that a request by a qualified individual to an attending physician to provide a terminal comfort care drug in good faith compliance with the provisions of this Act does not provide the basis for the appointment of a guardian or conservator. Specifies that no actions taken in compliance with the provisions of this Act constitute or provide the basis for any claim of neglect or elder abuse.

    Specifies that participation in activities authorized by the Act is strictly voluntary and sets out permissible activities that run contrary to the Act.

    Prohibits sanctioning a health care provider for: (1) making an initial determination pursuant to the standard of care that an individual has a terminal disease and informing him or her of the medical prognosis; (2) providing information about the End of Life Options Act to an individual upon inquiry; or (3) providing an individual, upon request, with a referral to another physician.

    Specifies that the following are punishable as felonies: (1) knowingly altering or forging a request for a terminal comfort care drug to hasten an individual's death without that individual's authorization, concealing or destroying a withdrawal or rescission of a request for a terminal comfort care drug, destroying or concealing an individual's written request for a terminal comfort care drug, or concealing or destroying an individual's prescribed terminal comfort care drug, if the act is done with the intent or effect of causing, interfering with, or preventing the individual's death against his or her wishes; (2) knowingly coercing or exerting undue influence on an individual to request or ingest a terminal comfort care drug for the purpose of ending his or her life, knowingly destroying a withdrawal or rescission of a request, or administering a terminal comfort care drug to an individual without his or her knowledge or consent; (3) knowingly coercing or exerting undue influence to interfere with an individual's expressed desire to hasten his or her death by ingestion of a prescribed terminal comfort care drug.

    Requires DHHS to collect and review the information required to be submitted to DHHS, which is considered confidential and not a public record. Requires DHHS to annually, by April 15, make available to the public on the DHHS website a report based on the collected information. Specifies information that the report must contain, including the number of known individuals who died each year for whom a terminal comfort care drug was prescribed and the cause of death for each of these individuals, the number of physicians licensed in this state who wrote prescriptions for terminal comfort care drugs, and the names and dosages of prescribed terminal comfort care drug.

    Requires DHHS to develop, update, and publish the forms required under the Act.

    Specifies the manner of disposing of terminal comfort care drugs after a qualified individual's death.

    Includes a severability clause.

    The above provisions are effective December 1, 2019.

    Requires DHHS, by December 31, 2019, to develop and publish on its website downloadable versions of the required forms. Requires DHHS to publish the first required report on its website by March 15, 2021. Effective when the act becomes law.