N.Y. PBH Law § 2899-D — New York Code / Act PBH / Article 28-F / Section 2899-D
Definitions
Status: in_force

* § 2899-d. Definitions. As used in this article:\n  1. "Adult" means an individual who is eighteen years of age or older.\n  2. "Attending physician" means the physician who has primary\nresponsibility for the care of the patient and treatment of the\npatient's terminal illness or condition.\n  3. "Decision-making capacity" means the ability to understand and\nappreciate the nature and consequences of health care decisions,\nincluding the benefits and risks of and alternatives to any proposed\nhealth care, including medical aid in dying, and to reach an informed\ndecision.\n  4. "Consulting physician" means a physician who is qualified by\nspecialty or experience to make a professional diagnosis and prognosis\nregarding a patient's terminal illness or condition.\n  5. "Health care facility" means a general hospital, nursing home, or\nresidential health care facility as defined in section twenty-eight\nhundred one of this chapter, or a hospice as defined in section four\nthousand two of this chapter.\n  6. "Health care provider" means an individual licensed, certified, or\nauthorized by law to administer health care or dispense medication in\nthe ordinary course of business or practice of a profession.\n  7. "Informed decision" means a decision by a patient who is suffering\nfrom a terminal illness or condition to request and obtain a\nprescription for medication that the patient may self-administer to end\nthe patient's life that is based on an understanding and acknowledgment\nof the relevant facts and that is made voluntarily, of the patient's own\nvolition and without coercion, after being fully informed of:\n  (a) the patient's medical diagnosis and prognosis;\n  (b) the potential risks associated with taking the medication to be\nprescribed;\n  (c) the probable result of taking the medication to be prescribed;\n  (d) the possibility that the patient may choose not to obtain the\nmedication, or may obtain the medication but may decide not to\nself-administer it; and\n  (e) the feasible alternatives and appropriate treatment options,\nincluding but not limited to palliative care and hospice care.\n  8. "Medical aid in dying" means the medical practice of a physician\nprescribing medication to a qualified individual that the individual may\nchoose to self-administer to bring about death.\n  9. "Medically confirmed" means the medical opinion of the attending\nphysician that a patient has a terminal illness or condition and has\nmade an informed decision which has been confirmed by a consulting\nphysician who has examined the patient and the patient's relevant\nmedical records.\n  10. "Medication" means medication prescribed by a physician under this\narticle.\n  11. "Mental health professional" means an individual (a) licensed to\npractice medicine in New York state who is a diplomate of the American\nboard of psychiatry and neurology or is eligible to be certified by that\nboard or is certified by the American osteopathic board of neurology and\npsychiatry or is eligible to be certified by that board; or (b) licensed\nto practice psychology under title eight of the education law.\n  12. "Palliative care" means health care treatment, including\ninterdisciplinary end-of-life care, and consultation with patients and\nfamily members, to prevent or relieve pain and suffering and to enhance\nthe patient's quality of life, including hospice care under article\nforty of this chapter.\n  13. "Patient" means a resident of New York state who is eighteen years\nof age or older under the care of a physician.\n  14. "Physician" means an individual licensed to practice medicine in\nNew York state.\n  15. "Qualified individual" means a patient with a terminal illness or\ncondition, who has decision-making capacity, has made an informed\ndecision, and has satisfied the requirements of this article in order to\nobtain a prescription for medication.\n  16. "Self-administer" means a qualified individual's affirmative,\nconscious, and voluntary act to ingest medication under this article.\nSelf-administration does not include lethal injection or lethal\ninfusion.\n  17. "Terminal illness or condition" means an incurable and\nirreversible illness or condition that has been medically confirmed and\nwill, within reasonable medical judgment, produce death within six\nmonths whether or not treatment is provided.\n  18. "Third-party health care payer" has its ordinary meaning and\nincludes, but is not limited to, an insurer, organization or corporation\nlicensed or certified under article thirty-two, forty-three or\nforty-seven of the insurance law, or article forty-four of the public\nhealth law; or an entity such as a pharmacy benefits manager or\nthird-party administrator.\n  * NB Effective August 5, 2026\n