Arizona Revised Statutes Title 36. Public Health and Safety § 36-3205. Health care providers; immunity from liability; conditions

A. 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.

B. Health care provider acts and refusals to act made in reliance on the provisions of a health care directive or directions of a surrogate are presumed to be made in good faith. A court shall base a finding of an absence of good faith on information known to the provider and shall enter its finding only after it has made a determination of bad faith in written findings of fact based on clear and convincing evidence of improper motive. For the purposes of this subsection, “good faith” includes all health care decisions, acts and refusals to act based on a health care provider's reasonable belief of a patient's desires, a patient's best interest or the directives of a patient's surrogate if these decisions, acts or refusals to act are not contrary to the patient's express written directions in a valid health care directive.

C. A health care provider is not subject to criminal or civil liability or professional discipline for any of the following:

D. This section does not relieve a health care provider from civil or criminal liability or prevent a provider from being subjected to professional disciplinary action for the provider's negligent treatment of a patient if the negligence is unrelated to the provider's reliance on a health care directive, directions from a surrogate or the recommendations of an institutional ethics committee pursuant to § 36-3231.