Revocation of Advance Medical Directive
STATUTORY REFERENCE
ALL REFERENCES ARE TO THE REVISED CODE OF VIRGINIA
REVOCATION OF ADVANCE DIRECTIVE
General Information (§54.1-2982):
As used in the Virginia Health Care Decisions Act, the following
definitions are applicable:
- "Advance directive" means a witnessed written document, voluntarily
executed by the declarant in accordance with the requirements of
§ 54.1-2983 or a witnessed oral statement, made by the declarant subsequent
to the time he is diagnosed as suffering from a terminal condition and
in accordance with the provisions of § 54.1-2983.
- "Agent" means an adult appointed by the declarant under an advance
directive. The declarant may also appoint an adult to make, after the declarant's
death, an anatomical gift of all or any part of his body.
- "Incapable of making an informed decision" means the inability of an
adult patient, who, because of mental illness, mental retardation, or any
other mental or physical disorder which precludes communication or impairs
judgment and who has been diagnosed and certified in writing by his attending
physician and a second physician or licensed clinical psychologist after
personal examination of such patient, to make an informed decision about
providing, withholding or withdrawing a specific medical treatment or course
of treatment because he is unable to understand the nature, extent or probable
consequences of the proposed medical decision, or to make a rational evaluation
of the risks and benefits of alternatives to that decision.
- "Life prolonging procedure" means any medical procedure, treatment
or intervention which utilizes mechanical or other artificial means to
sustain, restore or supplant a spontaneous vital function, or is otherwise
of such a nature as to afford a patient no reasonable expectation of recovery
from a terminal condition and, when applied to a patient in a terminal
condition, would serve only to prolong the dying process. The term includes
artificially administered hydration and nutrition. Nothing shall prohibit the administration of medication or the performance
of any medical procedure deemed necessary to provide comfort care or to
alleviate pain, including the administration of pain relieving medications
in excess of recommended dosages.
- "Persistent vegetative state" means a condition caused by injury, disease
or illness in which a patient has suffered a loss of consciousness, with
no behavioral evidence of self-awareness or awareness of surroundings in
a learned manner, other than reflex activity of muscles and nerves for
low level conditioned response, and from which, to a reasonable degree
of medical probability, there can be no recovery.
- "Qualified patient" means a patient who has made an advance directive
and either has been diagnosed and certified in writing by the attending
physician and a second physician or licensed clinical psychologist after
personal examination to be incapable of making an informed decision about
providing, withholding or withdrawing a specific medical treatment or course
of treatment or has been diagnosed and certified in writing by the attending
physician to be afflicted with a terminal condition.
- "Terminal condition" means a condition caused by injury, disease or
illness from which, to a reasonable degree of medical probability a patient
cannot recover and the patient's death is imminent or the patient is in
a persistent vegetative state.
The Form (§ 54.1-2984):
An advance directive DOES NOT have to be in the form provided in
the statute. It may
- direct a specific procedure or treatment to be provided, such as artificially
administered hydration and nutrition;
- direct a specific procedure or treatment to be withheld; or
- appoint an agent to make health care decisions for the declarant as
specified in the advance directive if the declarant is determined to be
incapable of making an informed decision.
If any other specific directions of an advance directive are ruled
invalid, that does not affect the advance directive.
Revocation of Directive (§ 54.1-2985)
An advance directive may be revoked at any time by the declarant
- by a signed, dated writing;
- by physical cancellation or destruction of the advance directive by
the declarant or another in his presence and at his direction; or
- by oral expression of intent to revoke.
Any revocation is effective when communicated to the attending physician.
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