N.Y. Pub. Health Law § 2994-c - Requirements for the Determination of Incapacity

An attending physician will determine whether an adult patient lacks capacity to make medical decisions. 

A patient’s incapacity to make medical decisions will  be determined initially by their attending physician. If the patient is in a residential health care facility or general hospital, a practitioner employed by or affiliated with the facility must independently evaluate the patient for the purpose of issuing a concurring opinion. 

If an attending physician determines that a mental illness or developmental disability has removed the patient’s capacity, then a physician or psychologist that specializes, respectively, in mental illness or development disabilities or has been approved by the commissioner must issue the concurring opinion. Such consultations must be documented in the patient’s medical record.