South Carolina § 44-78-15 - Definitions.

§ 44-78-15. Definitions.

As used in this chapter:

(1) "Do not resuscitate bracelet" or "bracelet" means a standardized identification bracelet that:

(a) meets the specifications established under Section 44-78-30(B) or that is approved by the department under Section 44-78-30(B);

(b) bears the inscription "Do Not Resuscitate"; and

(c) signifies that the wearer is a patient who has obtained a do not resuscitate order which has not been revoked.

(2) "Do not resuscitate order for emergency services" means a document made pursuant to this article to prevent EMS personnel from employing resuscitative measures or any other medical process that would only extend the patient's suffering with no viable medical reason to perform the procedure.

(3) "EMS personnel" means emergency medical personnel certified by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control including first responders who have completed a Department of Health and Environmental Control approved medical first responder program.

(4) "Health care provider" means a person licensed to practice medicine or osteopathy pursuant to Chapter 47, Title 40.

(5) "Palliative treatment" means the degree of treatment which must be provided to a patient in the routine delivery of emergency medical services, which assures the comfort and alleviation of pain and suffering to all extents possible, regardless of whether the patient has executed a document as provided for in this chapter.

(6) "Resuscitative treatment" means artificial stimulation of the cardiopulmonary systems of the human body, through either electrical, mechanical, or manual means including, but not limited to, cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

(7) "Terminal condition" means an incurable or irreversible condition that within reasonable medical judgment will cause death within a reasonably short period of time with or without the administration of life-sustaining treatment.

(8) "Child" means a person under the age of eighteen who is neither married nor judicially emancipated and who is medically eligible for hospice care as a result of a terminal condition.

HISTORY: 1994 Act No. 485, SECTION 2; 2016 Act No. 233 (H.4773), SECTION 2, eff June 3, 2016; 2022 Act No. 122 (S.508), SECTIONS 1.A, 1.B, eff March 14, 2022.

Effect of Amendment

2022 Act No. 122, SECTION 1.A, in (7), substituted "will cause death within a reasonably short period of time with or without the administration of life-sustaining treatment" for "could cause death within a reasonably short period of time if life sustaining procedures are not used".

2022 Act No. 122, SECTION 1.B, added (8), relating to the definition of "child".