LD 1568, Page 2 - 122th Legislature, FIRST SPECIAL Session

the medical examiner as provided in section 3025. If the patient

was a resident of a nursing home licensed under section 1817 at the

time of death and if the ~~physician~~ health care provider in charge

of the patient's care or another ~~physician~~ health care provider

designated by the ~~physician~~ health care provider in charge had not

examined the patient within 48 hours prior to death, or within 2

weeks prior to death in the case of a terminally ill patient, the

~~physician~~ health care provider in charge or another ~~physician~~

health care provider designated by the ~~physician~~ health care

provider in charge shall examine the body prior to completing the

certification of death process. Any ~~physician~~ health care provider

who fails to complete the medical certification of the cause of

death fully, in typewritten or legibly hand-printed style and in a

timely manner, or who fails to examine the body of a nursing home

resident prior to certifying cause of death as required by this

section must be reported to the Board of Licensure in Medicine or,

the Board of Osteopathic Licensure or the State Board of Nursing,

whichever is appropriate, by the State Registrar of Vital

Statistics of the Department of Health and Human Services.

For the purposes of this subsection, the following terms have the
following meanings.

A. "Life-sustaining procedure" means any medical procedure
or intervention that, when administered to a qualified
patient, will serve only to prolong the dying process and
does not include nutrition and hydration.

B. "Terminally ill patient" means a patient who has been
diagnosed as having an incurable or irreversible condition
that, without the administration of life-sustaining
procedures, will, in the opinion of the attending ~~physician~~
health care provider, result in death within a short time.

C.__"Health care provider" means a physician authorized to
practice in this State or nurse practitioner.

D.__"Nurse practitioner" means an advanced practice
registered nurse who is a certified nurse practitioner
authorized to practice without the supervision of a
physician pursuant to Title 32, chapter 31.

Sec. 5. 22 MRSA §2842, sub-§2-A, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 433, §2, is
amended to read:

2-A. Medical certification. Notwithstanding subsection 2,
with respect to a person who dies within the State naturally and
for whom the physician or nurse practitioner was the attending
~~physician~~ health care provider, the medical certification of the

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