Section 125.05. Following do-not-resuscitate orders.

 

(1)   General requirement . Emergency health care personnel shall follow a do-not-resuscitate order, as evidenced by a patient wearing a do-not-resuscitate bracelet, unless the order is invalidated by a condition under sub. (3) . If there is any doubt about honoring a do-not-resuscitate bracelet, emergency medical technicians and first responders shall contact the medical control hospital and emergency health care facility staff shall contact the director of emergency services.

(2)   P ROCEDURE. Emergency health care personnel shall carry out the following procedure in the emergency care setting:

(a) Assess the patient.

(b) If the patient is pulseless and non-breathing, check the patient's wrist for a do-not-resuscitate bracelet.

(c) If no do-not-resuscitate bracelet is found on the patient's wrist, provide usual care.

(d) If a do-not-resuscitate bracelet is found on the patient's wrist, and the bracelet is not defaced, do not undertake life support measures. Provide comfort care.

(3)   Conditions invalidating a do-not-resuscitate order . Any of the following conditions, as set out in s. 154.19 (3) (b) , Stats., invalidates a do-not-resuscitate order and therefore the obligation of emergency health care personnel to be bound by it and to honor the do-not-resuscitate bracelet on the patient's wrist or with the patient:

(a) The patient has revoked the do-not-resuscitate order by doing any of the following:

1. Expressing to an emergency medical technician, first responder or emergency health care facility staff member the desire to be resuscitated. When this is done, emergency health care personnel shall promptly remove the do-not-resuscitate bracelet.

2. Defacing, burning, cutting or otherwise destroying the do-not-resuscitate bracelet.

3. Removing the do-not-resuscitate bracelet or asking another person to remove it.

(b) The do-not-resuscitate bracelet appears to have been tampered with or removed.

(c) The emergency medical technician, first responder or emergency health care facility staff member knows that the patient is pregnant.

(4)   Patient desire not to be resuscitated is controlling . If a member of the patient's family or a friend of the patient requests that resuscitative measures be taken, that person's request does not supersede the do-not-resuscitate order for the patient if the patient is wearing a valid do-not-resuscitate bracelet and has not revoked the order under s. 154.21 , Stats.

(5)   Documentation of patient contact and removal of patient .

(a) Even if resuscitation is not attempted, the emergency medical technician, first responder or emergency health care facility staff member shall document the patient contact in the patient's medical record or the ambulance run report form, as appropriate.

(b) Local protocols shall determine the procedure for removing the patient from the emergency care setting.

(6)   Violations . An emergency medical technician, first responder or emergency health care facility staff member who does any of the following is subject to the penalties set forth in s. 154.29 (1) or (2) , Stats.:

(a) Willfully conceals, defaces or damages a patient's do-not-resuscitate bracelet without the patient's consent.

(b) With the intent to cause withholding or withdrawal of resuscitation contrary to the wishes of a patient, falsifies, forges or transfers a do-not-resuscitate bracelet to that patient or conceals the patient's revocation of a do-not-resuscitate order.

(c) Withholds personal knowledge of a patient's revocation of a do-not-resuscitate order.

History: Cr. Register, July, 1997, No. 499 , eff. 8-1-97.

Note

Examples of comfort care include, but are not limited to, administration of oxygen, clearing the airway, controlling bleeding, positioning for comfort, providing emotional support, providing pain medication and splinting. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1