As used in this article 48, unless the context
otherwise requires:
(1)Adult means an individual who is eighteen years of age or older.
(1.5) Advanced practice registered nurse has the same meaning as set
forth in section 12-255-104 (1).
(2)Attending provider means a physician or advanced practice registered
nurse who has primary responsibility for the care of a terminally ill individual and
the treatment of the individual's terminal illness.
(3)Consulting provider means a physician or advanced practice registered
nurse who is qualified by specialty or experience to make a professional diagnosis
and prognosis regarding a terminally ill individual's illness.
(4)Health-care provider or provider means a person who is licensed,
certified, registered, or otherwise authorized or p
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As used in this article 48, unless the context
otherwise requires:
(1) Adult means an individual who is eighteen years of age or older.
(1.5) Advanced practice registered nurse has the same meaning as set
forth in section 12-255-104 (1).
(2) Attending provider means a physician or advanced practice registered
nurse who has primary responsibility for the care of a terminally ill individual and
the treatment of the individual's terminal illness.
(3) Consulting provider means a physician or advanced practice registered
nurse who is qualified by specialty or experience to make a professional diagnosis
and prognosis regarding a terminally ill individual's illness.
(4) Health-care provider or provider means a person who is licensed,
certified, registered, or otherwise authorized or permitted by law to administer
health care or dispense medication in the ordinary course of business or practice of
a profession.
(5) Informed decision means a decision by a mentally capable individual to
request and obtain a prescription for medication pursuant to this article 48, that the
qualified individual may self-administer to bring about death, after being fully
informed by the attending provider and the consulting provider of:
(a) The individual's diagnosis and prognosis;
(b) The potential risks associated with taking the medication to be
prescribed;
(c) The probable result of taking the medication to be prescribed;
(d) The feasible end-of-life care and treatment options for the individual's
terminal disease, including comfort care, palliative care, hospice care, and pain
control, and the risks and benefits of each of these options; and
(e) The individual's right to withdraw a request pursuant to this article 48 or
withdraw consent for any other treatment at any time.
(6) Licensed mental health professional means a psychiatrist licensed
under article 240 of title 12 or a psychologist licensed under part 3 of article 245 of
title 12.
(7) Medical aid-in-dying means the practice of evaluating a request, the
determining of qualification, the performing of the duties in sections 25-48-106 and
25-48-107, and the providing of a prescription to a qualified individual pursuant to
this article 48.
(8) Repealed.
(9) Medically confirmed means a consulting provider has examined the
terminally ill individual and the individual's relevant medical records and has
confirmed the medical opinion of the attending provider.
(10) Mental capacity or mentally capable means that in the opinion of an
individual's attending provider, consulting provider, psychiatrist, or psychologist,
the individual has the ability to make and communicate an informed decision to
health-care providers.
(11) Physician means a doctor of medicine or osteopathy licensed to
practice medicine by the Colorado medical board.
(12) Prognosis of six months or less means a terminal illness will, within
reasonable medical judgment, result in death within six months.
(13) (a) Qualified individual means a resident of the state who is a capable
adult and who has satisfied the requirements of this article 48 in order to obtain a
prescription for medication to bring about a death.
(b) An individual is not a qualified individual based solely on the individual's
age or disability.
(14) Resident means an individual who is able to demonstrate residency in
Colorado by providing any of the following documentation to his or her attending
physician:
(a) A Colorado driver's license or identification card issued pursuant to
article 2 of title 42, C.R.S.;
(b) A Colorado voter registration card or other documentation showing the
individual is registered to vote in Colorado;
(c) Evidence that the individual owns or leases property in Colorado; or
(d) A Colorado income tax return for the most recent tax year.
(15) (a) Self-administer means when a qualified individual performs an
affirmative, conscious, voluntary act to ingest medication prescribed pursuant to
this article 48 to bring about the individual's death.
(b) Self-administer does not include administration by parenteral injection
or infusion.
(16) Terminal illness means an incurable and irreversible disease that has
been medically confirmed and will, within reasonable medical judgment, result in
death within six months.