When Providers Must Follow a Surrogate's Decisions
A health care directive only works if providers follow it. Arizona law requires health care providers to honor treatment decisions made by a patient's surrogate.
A health care provider shall comply with health care decisions made by the patient's surrogate unless those decisions are inconsistent with the patient's health care directive as known to the provider or the provider has transferred responsibility to another provider pursuant to section 36-3205, subsection C, paragraph 1.
A.R.S. § 36-3204(A)There are two exceptions. First, the surrogate's decision may conflict with the patient's written directive. In that case, the provider follows the directive instead.
The patient's own documented wishes take priority. Second, the provider may have already transferred care to another provider. This can happen under the conscience rule in A.R.S. 36-3205. As a result, the original provider is no longer responsible.
Information Sharing With the Surrogate
Families often worry about staying informed. This means knowing about medical treatment and the patient's condition matters greatly.
A health care provider has a duty to volunteer and otherwise disclose information about the patient's health status and care to the patient's surrogate to the same degree that the provider owes this duty to the patient.
A.R.S. § 36-3204(B)This is a meaningful protection. The provider must share health information and medical records with the surrogate. They must do so at the same level as they would with the patient.
A health care power of attorney helps here. It ensures the surrogate has what they need to make informed decisions.
How This Affects Families in Practice
A parent may become unable to speak for themselves. In that case, an adult child or family member named in the directive becomes the surrogate. That person needs access to medical records and ongoing updates.
Providers must also follow the surrogate's treatment decisions when they match the directive. If the directive calls for continued care, the provider must keep it going until any transfer is complete.
For families, the health care power of attorney is not just a legal formality. The surrogate directs medical treatment, and the provider carries it out. Both sides follow the patient's original wishes.