PRINTER'S NO. 457
No. 405 Session of 1999
INTRODUCED BY MOWERY, MURPHY, TOMLINSON, BRIGHTBILL, KUKOVICH,
BELL, SCHWARTZ, MUSTO, COSTA, STOUT, EARLL, WHITE, WAGNER,
WOZNIAK, CORMAN, WAUGH, THOMPSON, MELLOW, SLOCUM, TARTAGLIONE
AND LEMMOND, FEBRUARY 23, 1999
REFERRED TO PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE, FEBRUARY 23, 1999
AN ACT
1 Providing a mechanism for parents to confer upon other persons
2 the power to consent to medical and mental health care of
3 their children; and regulating procedure.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Short title.
7 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Medical
8 Consent Act.
9 Section 2. Legislative intent.
10 It is the intent of the General Assembly to provide a
11 mechanism similar to a power of attorney whereby parents may
12 confer the power to consent to medical and mental health
13 treatment of their children upon a relative or family friend in
14 order to enable those who are temporarily unable to care for the
15 needs of their children to ensure that the medical and mental
16 health needs of the children are met without terminating or
17 limiting in any way the legal rights of the parents.
1 Section 3. Medical and mental health care consent.
2 (a) General rule.--A parent, legal guardian or legal
3 custodian of a minor may confer upon an adult person the power
4 to consent to medical, surgical, dental, developmental, mental
5 health or other treatment to be rendered to the minor under the
6 supervision of or upon the advice of a physician, nurse, school
7 nurse, dentist, mental health or other health care professional
8 licensed to practice in this Commonwealth and to obtain any and
9 all records with regard to the health care services, unless the
10 minor is in the custody of a county child and youth agency or
11 there is currently in effect a prior order of a court in any
12 jurisdiction which would prohibit the parent, legal guardian or
13 legal custodian from exercising the power that the parent, legal
14 guardian or legal custodian seeks to confer. The authorization
15 may also include the right to act as the minor's legal
16 representative for the purposes of receiving informational
17 materials regarding vaccines under section 2126 of the Public
18 Health Service Act (58 Stat. 682, 42 U.S.C. § 300aa-26).
19 (b) Rights of minors.--The provisions of subsection (a) may
20 not be utilized by a parent, legal guardian or legal custodian
21 to confer upon an adult person the power to consent to treatment
22 or to obtain medical or mental health records if the power to
23 consent to treatment or to obtain medical or mental health
24 records has been assigned by Federal or State law to the minor.
25 (c) Form of authorization.--
26 (1) Authorization to consent to medical or mental health
27 treatment of a minor may be conveyed by any written form
28 containing the name of the person upon whom the power is
29 conferred, the name and date of birth of each minor with
30 respect to whom the power is conferred, a statement by the
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1 person conferring the power that there are no court orders
2 presently in effect that would prohibit the person from
3 conferring the power and a description of the medical or
4 mental health examination or treatment as to which power is
5 being conferred. The authorization shall be signed by the
6 parent, legal guardian or legal custodian in the presence of
7 and along with the contemporaneous signatures of two
8 witnesses who are at least 18 years of age. The person upon
9 whom the power to consent to medical or mental health
10 treatment is being conferred may not serve as one of the
11 witnesses. If for any physical reason the person executing
12 the authorization is unable to sign, the person executing the
13 authorization may make a mark to which that person's name
14 shall be subscribed immediately thereafter.
15 (2) The authorization may be substantially in the
16 following form, except that the use of alternative language
17 shall not be precluded:
18 MEDICAL CONSENT AUTHORIZATION
19 ( ) I (name ) am the parent of the child(ren)
20 listed below and there are no court orders now in effect
21 that would prohibit me from conferring the power to
22 consent upon another person.
23 ( ) I (name ) am the legal guardian or legal
24 custodian of the child(ren) by court order (copy
25 attached, if available) and there are no other court
26 orders in effect that would prohibit me from conferring
27 the power to consent upon another person.
28 I, , do hereby confer upon ,
29 residing at the power to consent to
30 necessary medical or mental health treatment for the
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1 following child(ren): , residing at
2 , born on , and on the
3 child(ren)'s behalf do hereby state that the power to
4 consent which I confer shall not be affected by my
5 subsequent disability or incapacity.
6 The power which I confer is specifically limited to
7 health care and mental health care decision making, and
8 it may be exercised only by the person named above.
9 The person named above may consent to the
10 child(ren)'s (cross out all that do not apply): medical,
11 dental, surgical, developmental, and/or mental health
12 examination or treatment, and may have access to any and
13 all records regarding any such services.
14 I confer the power to consent freely and knowingly in
15 order to provide for the child(ren) and not as a result
16 of pressure, threats or payments by any person or agency.
17 This document shall remain in effect until it is revoked
18 by notifying my child(ren)'s medical and mental health
19 care providers and the person named above that I wish to
20 revoke it.
21 In witness whereof, I, , have signed
22 my name to this medical consent authorization, consisting
23 of two (2) pages on this day of , , in
24 , Pennsylvania.
25 (Printed Name)
26 (Signature)
27 (Witness Signature)
28 (Witness No.1 printed Name and Address)
29
30 (Witness Signature)
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1 (Witness No.2 printed Name and Address)
2
3 (d) Use by health care provider.--An authorization described
4 in subsection (a) which is consistent with the requirements of
5 subsection (c)(1) shall be honored by all physicians, nurses,
6 school nurses, mental health professionals, dentists, other
7 health care professionals, hospitals, medical facilities and
8 mental health facilities. Notwithstanding the provisions of
9 subsection (f), the existence of a written document conveying
10 powers as described in subsection (a) which is consistent with
11 the requirements of subsection (c)(1) creates a presumption that
12 the power has been lawfully conferred.
13 (e) Revocation.--Powers conferred under this section are
14 revocable at the will and effective upon conveying the duly
15 executed authorization to the person upon whom the power is
16 being conferred and to health care providers. Death of a person
17 who has previously executed a medical consent authorization
18 constitutes revocation of the authorization, except that action
19 taken without actual knowledge of the death in good faith
20 reliance upon the authorization shall be permitted. Unless
21 otherwise indicated on the authorization, disability or
22 incapacity of the person executing the authorization does not
23 constitute revocation of the authorization.
24 (f) Liability.--A person who acts in good faith reliance on
25 medical consent authorization shall not incur civil or criminal
26 liability or be subject to professional disciplinary action for
27 treating a minor without legal consent, except that nothing in
28 this section shall relieve an individual from liability for
29 violations of other provisions of law.
30 (g) Family reunification services.--This section shall not
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1 be construed to provide a substitute for family reunification
2 services under 23 Pa.C.S. Ch. 63 (relating to child protective
3 services). The execution of an authorization pursuant to
4 subsection (a) shall not be binding in future custody or
5 dependency proceedings. Regardless of the execution of a medical
6 consent authorization, future custody or dependency
7 determinations shall be based on the prevailing legal standard.
8 Section 4. Effective date.
9 This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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