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Colorado's New Proxy Law: Moving from Statute to Guidelines.
Jacqueline J Glover1, Deb Bennett-Woods2, Jean Abbott3
1Center for Bioethics and the Humanities, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado 80045 USA. Jackie.Glover@ ucdenver.edu.
The Journal of Clinical Ethics
|March 23, 2018
Summary
Colorado
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Law
- Bioethics
- Health Policy
Background:
- Colorado's 2016 medical proxy law amendment (HB 16-1101) created a process for appointing a physician as a last resort decision-maker for unrepresented patients.
- The legislative process involved diverse stakeholders with varying levels of support for the amendment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To detail stakeholder concerns regarding the implementation of Colorado's medical proxy law for unrepresented patients.
- To describe how voluntary guidelines were developed to address these concerns.
- To identify future research needs for evaluating the law's impact.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of stakeholder questions and concerns during the guideline development process.
- Description of the collaborative process involving the Colorado Collaborative for Unrepresented Patients (CCUP).
- Review of the resulting voluntary guidelines for policy implementation.
Main Results:
- Stakeholder concerns were identified and addressed through the creation of voluntary implementation guidelines.
- The CCUP facilitated a collaborative approach to guideline development.
- The study outlines specific areas for future research on the legislation's effectiveness.
Conclusions:
- Voluntary guidelines can aid in implementing complex healthcare legislation like Colorado's medical proxy law.
- Continued stakeholder engagement is crucial for successful policy adoption.
- Further research is needed to assess the practical impact and effectiveness of the "Medical Decisions For Unrepresented Patients" statute.