WASHINGTON STATUTES AND CODES

70.245.010 - Definitions.

Definitions.

The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

     (1) "Adult" means an individual who is eighteen years of age or older.

     (2) "Attending physician" means the physician who has primary responsibility for the care of the patient and treatment of the patient's terminal disease.

     (3) "Competent" means that, in the opinion of a court or in the opinion of the patient's attending physician or consulting physician, psychiatrist, or psychologist, a patient has the ability to make and communicate an informed decision to health care providers, including communication through persons familiar with the patient's manner of communicating if those persons are available.

     (4) "Consulting physician" means a physician who is qualified by specialty or experience to make a professional diagnosis and prognosis regarding the patient's disease.

     (5) "Counseling" means one or more consultations as necessary between a state licensed psychiatrist or psychologist and a patient for the purpose of determining that the patient is competent and not suffering from a psychiatric or psychological disorder or depression causing impaired judgment.

     (6) "Health care provider" means a person licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized or permitted by law to administer health care or dispense medication in the ordinary course of business or practice of a profession, and includes a health care facility.

     (7) "Informed decision" means a decision by a qualified patient, to request and obtain a prescription for medication that the qualified patient may self-administer to end his or her life in a humane and dignified manner, that is based on an appreciation of the relevant facts and after being fully informed by the attending physician of:

     (a) His or her medical diagnosis;

     (b) His or her prognosis;

     (c) The potential risks associated with taking the medication to be prescribed;

     (d) The probable result of taking the medication to be prescribed; and

     (e) The feasible alternatives including, but not limited to, comfort care, hospice care, and pain control.

     (8) "Medically confirmed" means the medical opinion of the attending physician has been confirmed by a consulting physician who has examined the patient and the patient's relevant medical records.

     (9) "Patient" means a person who is under the care of a physician.

     (10) "Physician" means a doctor of medicine or osteopathy licensed to practice medicine in the state of Washington.

     (11) "Qualified patient" means a competent adult who is a resident of Washington state and has satisfied the requirements of this chapter in order to obtain a prescription for medication that the qualified patient may self-administer to end his or her life in a humane and dignified manner.

     (12) "Self-administer" means a qualified patient's act of ingesting medication to end his or her life in a humane and dignified manner.

     (13) "Terminal disease" means an incurable and irreversible disease that has been medically confirmed and will, within reasonable medical judgment, produce death within six months.