Referral to another medical practitioner for opinion—disease, illness or medical condition
37 Referral to another medical practitioner for opinion—disease, illness or medical condition
This section applies if the consulting practitioner is unable to decide whether the patient has a disease, illness or medical condition that meets the requirements of section 16(1)(d).
The consulting practitioner must refer the patient to a medical practitioner who has appropriate skills and training to make a decision about the matter.
Note—
See section 181(2)(a) about guidelines that apply to the referral.
The medical practitioner must—
decide whether the patient has a disease, illness or medical condition that—
is advanced, progressive and will cause death, and
will, on the balance of probabilities, cause death—
for a disease, illness or medical condition that is neurodegenerative—within a period of 12 months, or
otherwise—within a period of 6 months, and
is causing suffering to the person that cannot be relieved in a way the person considers tolerable, and
provide a clinical report to the consulting practitioner that sets out the medical practitioner’s decision.
If the consulting practitioner makes a referral under this section, the consulting practitioner may adopt the decision of the medical practitioner about the matter in relation to which the referral was made.
A medical practitioner to whom the patient is referred under this section must not be—
a family member of the patient, or
a person who knows or believes that they—
are a beneficiary under a will of the patient, or
may otherwise benefit financially or in any other material way from the death of the patient, other than by receiving reasonable fees for the provision of services in connection with the referral.
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