SB 410

Enacts GS 131E-90.5, limited in scope to patients 18 or older who lack capacity to make or communicate health care decisions and who do not have an individual willing to make health care decisions or consent to discharge on behalf of the patient. Authorizes the hospital providing treatment or service to the patient to petition the superior court in the county in which the hospital is located, with or without the assistance of legal counsel, for an order authorizing the discharge of the patient as ordered by the attending physician. Further limits the use of petitions to instances when the attending physician has the written concurrence of a second physician licensed to practice medicine in this State, and the petition is not filed before five business days of receipt of that written concurrence. Requires the court to grant or deny the petition within five business days after the petition is filed. Effective October 1, 2025.