2994-F - Obligations of attending physician.
§ 2994-f. Obligations of attending physician. 1. An attending physician informed of a decision to withdraw or withhold life-sustaining treatment made pursuant to the standards of this article shall record the decision in the patient's medical record, review the medical basis for the decision, and shall either: (a) implement the decision, or (b) promptly make his or her objection to the decision and the reasons for the objection known to the decision-maker, and either make all reasonable efforts to arrange for the transfer of the patient to another physician, if necessary, or promptly refer the matter to the ethics review committee. 2. If an attending physician has actual notice of the following objections or disagreements, he or she shall promptly refer the matter to the ethics review committee if the objection or disagreement cannot otherwise be resolved: (a) A health or social services practitioner consulted for a concurring determination that an adult patient lacks decision-making capacity disagrees with the attending physician's determination; or (b) Any person on the surrogate list objects to the designation of the surrogate pursuant to subdivision one of section twenty-nine hundred ninety-four-d of this article; or (c) Any person on the surrogate list objects to a surrogate's decision; or (d) A parent or guardian of a minor patient objects to the decision by another parent or guardian of the minor; or (e) A minor patient refuses life-sustaining treatment, and the minor's parent or guardian wishes the treatment to be provided, or the minor patient objects to an attending physician's determination about decision-making capacity or recommendation about life-sustaining treatment. 3. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section or subdivision one of section twenty-nine hundred ninety-four-q of this article, if a surrogate directs the provision of life-sustaining treatment, the denial of which in reasonable medical judgment would be likely to result in the death of the patient, a hospital or individual health care provider that does not wish to provide such treatment shall nonetheless comply with the surrogate's decision pending either transfer of the patient to a willing hospital or individual health care provider, or judicial review in accordance with section twenty-nine hundred ninety-four-r of this article.