Title 7 — Human Health Care and Safety.

For the purposes of this chapter, the term: (1) “Advanced airway management” means direct ventilation of the lungs through an endotracheal tube by mouth or stoma. (2) “Advanced life support” means advanced airway management, including endotracheal intubation; defibrillation; admi…

(a) The following persons may execute a comfort care order to communicate the decision that the person who is the subject of the order shall not be resuscitated if the person experiences cardiac arrest or respiratory arrest as a result of a specified medical or terminal condition…

(a) The comfort care order shall: (1) Be a distinctive form approved by the Mayor, sequentially numbered, and printed on security paper; (2) Include a statement describing the specific medical or terminal condition of the patient and the circumstances under which the patient shal…

(a) EMS personnel shall recognize only a comfort care bracelet or necklace for purposes of withholding cardiopulmonary resuscitation or advanced life support. (b) The Mayor shall approve the design for a comfort care bracelet and necklace. The bracelet and necklace shall be easil…

A patient, or the patient’s authorized decision-maker or surrogate, may revoke a comfort care order at any time by: (1) Removing, cutting, destroying, defacing, or discarding the comfort care bracelet; (2) Directing another person to remove, cut, destroy, deface, or discard the b…

(a) If EMS personnel encounter a person who is in cardiac or respiratory arrest and the person is wearing a comfort care bracelet or necklace, EMS personnel shall determine whether the comfort care bracelet or necklace is intact or has been defaced. If the comfort care bracelet o…

(a) If EMS personnel encounter a patient who is in cardiac or respiratory arrest and the patient is wearing a comfort care bracelet or necklace that is intact or has not been defaced, but the patient, or the patient’s authorized decision-maker or surrogate, orally requests that E…

EMS personnel may provide the following interventions to a patient who is wearing an intact comfort care bracelet or necklace that has not been defaced to comfort the patient or alleviate pain: (1) Clear the airway, excluding artificial ventilation, esophageal obturator airway, o…

EMS personnel shall recognize a comfort care bracelet, necklace, or similar identifier issued by Maryland and Virginia as if issued in accordance with this chapter and shall act on the identifier in accordance with this chapter.

The Mayor shall provide training for EMS personnel on the implementation of this chapter and initiate and participate in programs designed to educate the public with respect to this chapter.

(a) No licensed health care professional, EMS personnel, health care facility, government entity, or government employee shall be subject to criminal or civil liability, or be found to have committed an unprofessional act because the person, in good faith, resuscitates, withholds…

Any person who falsifies or forges a comfort care order, willfully conceals or withholds personal knowledge of the revocation of a comfort care order contrary to the wishes of a person who has executed a comfort care order, or places a comfort care bracelet on a person for whom a…

(a) Withholding or withdrawing resuscitation from a patient in accordance with this chapter shall not constitute a suicide or a crime of assisting suicide. (b) The execution or issuance of a comfort care order pursuant to this chapter shall not affect the sale, procurement, or is…

The Mayor may charge a reasonable fee for a comfort care order, comfort care bracelet or necklace, and for processing a comfort care order. The fee shall be established by rule.

The Mayor, pursuant to subchapter I of Chapter 5 of Title 2 shall issue rules to implement the provisions of this chapter.

This chapter shall apply 90 days after April 3, 2001.

Repealed Repealed.