Bill Text: GA SR476 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Advance Directives Assessment, Planning, and Oversight; create Senate Study Committee
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 4-2)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2009-04-01 - Senate Passed/Adopted [SR476 Detail]
Download: Georgia-2009-SR476-Enrolled.html
09 LC 33
2971
Senate
Resolution 476
By:
Senators Goggans of the 7th, Orrock of the 36th, Unterman of the 45th, Thomas of
the 54th, Tate of the 38th and others
ADOPTED
SENATE
A
RESOLUTION
Creating
the Senate Study Committee for Advance Directives Assessment, Planning, and
Oversight; and for other purposes.
WHEREAS,
over the past 30 years, "advance directives" for health care have been
increasingly embraced by individuals seeking to have their wishes respected at
the end of life by the medical community, its facilities, practitioners,
clinicians, and first responders; and
WHEREAS,
all 50 states currently have some version of advance directive legislation
reflecting the consensus within the legal, political, and medical communities
that patient autonomy and self-determination at the end of life should be
recognized and legally protected; and
WHEREAS,
the absence of a Georgia data base that registers individual's advance
directives for health care poses a significant obstacle to the ability of the
medical community to follow a patient's end-of-life decisions; and
WHEREAS,
the establishment of a Georgia registry of advance directives for health care is
technologically feasible and is crucial to ensuring compliance with individual
decisions and health care accountability; and
WHEREAS,
hospitals throughout Georgia vary the title and format of the paradigm designed
to convey patient advance directives to health care professionals and to honor
the treatment decisions made by the patient; and
WHEREAS,
Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment (POST) are endorsed in the federal
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) as critical medical
documents used to disclose patient wishes to all health care providers upon a
patient's admission to a medical facility and whenever a patient is transferred;
and
WHEREAS,
the POST form enables physicians to document patient wishes as clear, specific
medical orders regarding the types of life-sustaining treatment desired or
refused by the individual with an advanced life-limiting illness;
and
WHEREAS,
it would be beneficial to study the issue of establishing a uniform format for
POST forms and considering mandating the use of POST forms in all hospitals in
the state to ensure that the patient and physician discuss and develop clear
medical treatment plans that are based upon patient decisions and that respect
patient wishes for a peaceful death with dignity.
NOW,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that there is created the Senate Study
Committee for Advance Directives Assessment, Planning, and Oversight to study
the development and administration of a state maintained data base of advance
directives for the purpose of ensuring proper notification within the health
care community of patient wishes and thereby validate and respect individual
dignity and autonomy in end-of-life decisions and to study the establishment of
a uniform format for POST forms and to consider mandating the use of such forms
in all hospitals. The study committee shall be composed of five members of the
Senate to be appointed by the President of the Senate. The President of the
Senate shall designate a member of the committee as chairperson of the
committee. The chairperson shall call all meetings of the
committee.
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the committee shall undertake a study of the
conditions, needs, and issues mentioned above or related thereto and recommend
any action or legislation which the committee deems necessary or appropriate.
The committee may conduct such meetings at such places and at such times as it
may deem necessary or convenient to enable it to exercise fully and effectively
its powers, perform its duties, and accomplish the objectives and purposes of
this resolution. The members of the committee shall receive the allowances
provided for in Code Section 28-1-8 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated.
The allowances authorized by this resolution shall not be received by any member
of the committee for more than five days unless additional days are authorized.
The funds necessary to carry out the provisions of this resolution shall come
from the funds appropriated to the Senate. In the event the committee makes a
report of its findings and recommendations, with suggestions for proposed
legislation, if any, such report shall be made on or before December 31, 2009,
and the committee shall stand abolished on December 31, 2009.
