Tex.
Health & Safety Code Section 313.002
Definitions
(1)
“Adult” means a person 18 years of age or older or a person under 18 years of age who has had the disabilities of minority removed.(2)
“Attending physician” means the physician with primary responsibility for a patient’s treatment and care.(3)
“Decision-making capacity” means the ability to understand and appreciate the nature and consequences of a decision regarding medical treatment and the ability to reach an informed decision in the matter.(3-a)
“Home and community support services agency” means a facility licensed under Chapter 142 (Home and Community Support Services).(4)
“Hospital” means a facility licensed under Chapter 241 (Hospitals).(5)
“Incapacitated” means lacking the ability, based on reasonable medical judgment, to understand and appreciate the nature and consequences of a treatment decision, including the significant benefits and harms of and reasonable alternatives to any proposed treatment decision.(6)
“Medical treatment” means a health care treatment, service, or procedure designed to maintain or treat a patient’s physical or mental condition, as well as preventative care.(7)
“Nursing home” means a facility licensed under Chapter 242 (Convalescent and Nursing Facilities and Related Institutions).(8)
“Patient” means a person who:(A)
is admitted to a hospital;(B)
is residing in a nursing home;(C)
is receiving services from a home and community support services agency; or(D)
is an inmate of a county or municipal jail.(9)
“Physician” means:(A)
a physician licensed by the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners; or(B)
a physician with proper credentials who holds a commission in a branch of the armed services of the United States and who is serving on active duty in this state.(10)
“Surrogate decision-maker” means an individual with decision-making capacity who is identified as the person who has authority to consent to medical treatment on behalf of an incapacitated patient in need of medical treatment.
Source:
Section 313.002 — Definitions, https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/HS/htm/HS.313.htm#313.002 (accessed Jun. 5, 2024).
