The Good Faith Standard
Health care providers often face hard choices when carrying out a directive. Arizona law gives broad legal protection to providers who act in good faith.
A health care provider who makes good faith health care decisions in reliance on the provisions of an apparently genuine health care directive or the direction of a surrogate is immune from criminal and civil liability and is not subject to professional discipline for that reliance.
A.R.S. § 36-3205(A)The standard is practical. If the directive looks genuine and the provider acts in good faith, the law protects them. Courts can only find bad faith with clear and convincing evidence of improper motive.
This high bar encourages providers to follow directives without delay.
Conscience Objections and Emergency Situations
A provider may feel that following a directive conflicts with their conscience. In that case, the provider can decline. However, they must notify the surrogate right away and transfer care to a willing provider.
Emergencies have separate rules. If a surrogate cannot be reached after a reasonable effort, the provider is not liable for acting alone. The same applies when an emergency leaves no time to find the surrogate.
For example, paramedics and emergency responders often must act fast. A patient may carry a prehospital medical care directive about CPR. These directives are sometimes printed on an orange background.
Providers who follow these directives in good faith receive the same immunity. One important limit exists: this immunity does not cover negligent treatment unrelated to the directive.
A provider who follows the directive but delivers substandard care in other ways can still face liability. That separate negligence is not protected.