§ 34-51-3 — Informed consent necessary--Requirements.

To receive a general or individualized investigative treatment, an eligible patient must give informed consent. For the purposes of this section, "informed consent," means a written document that: (1) Is signed by the eligible patient; the patient's parent or legal guardian, if the patient is a minor; or an appointed guardian, attorney-in-fact, or person with authority pursuant to chapter 34-12C , if the patient is incapacitated as defined in § 34-12C-1 ; (2) Is attested to by the treating physician; (3) Explains the currently approved products and treatments for the disease or condition from which the patient suffers; (4) Contains the patient's concurrence with the treating physician that no treatment approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration would likely prolong the patient's life; (5) Clearly identifies the specific proposed general or individualized investigative treatment that the patient is seeking to use; (6) Describes, based on the treating physician's knowledge of the general or individualized investigative treatment and the patient's condition, the potential outcomes of using the treatment, and any possibility of worsening symptoms or death hastened by the treatment; (7) States that the: (a) Patient's health insurance carrier is not obligated to pay for any care or treatments consequent to the use of the general or individualized investigative treatment; and (b) Patient understands that the patient is liable for all expenses consequent to the use of the treatment; and (8) States that the patient's eligibility for hospice care may be withdrawn if the patient begins curative treatment with the general or individualized investigative treatment, and that care may be reinstated if this treatment ends and the patient meets hospice eligibility requirements.

Legislative History

SL 2015, ch 188, § 3; SL 2025, ch 144, § 2.