Providing for the designation of a caregiver relating to a patient’s inpatient stay at a hospital

If a patient or patient’s legal guardian designates a caregiver, the hospital is required to promptly request the written consent of the patient or the patient’s legal guardian to release medical information to the patient’s caregiver following the hospital’s established procedures and in compliance with all federal and state laws. If the patient or the patient’s legal guardian declines to consent to release medical information to the patient’s caregiver, the hospital is not required to provide notification to the caregiver or to provide information contained in the patient’s discharge plan to the caregiver. The hospital is required to record the patient’s designation of caregiver, the relationship of the caregiver to the patient, and the name, telephone number, and address of the patient’s caregiver in the patient’s medical record. The bill allows for a change in the caregiver designation by a patient or the patient’s legal guardian at any time. The bill provides that the designation of a caregiver by a patient or a patient’s legal guardian does not obligate the designated individual to perform any after-care assistance for the patient and that the provisions of the bill are not to be construed to require a patient or a patient’s legal guardian to designate any individual as a caregiver. Under the bill, a hospital is required to notify the patient’s caregiver of the patient’s discharge or transfer to another hospital or facility as soon as possible upon issuance of a discharge or transfer order by the patient’s attending physician and prior to the patient’s actual discharge or transfer to another hospital or facility. If the hospital is unable to contact the caregiver, the lack of contact shall not interfere with, delay, or otherwise affect the medical care provided to the patient, or an appropriate discharge of the patient. Under the bill, as soon as possible and prior to a patient’s discharge from a hospital, the hospital is required to consult with the caregiver along with the patient regarding the caregiver’s capabilities and limitations and issue a discharge plan that describes the patient’s after-care assistance needs at the patient’s residence. The bill also requires specified minimum instructions to be provided to the caregiver. The bill directs the department of inspections and appeals to adopt rules, in cooperation with the department of public health, to administer the bill. The bill is not to be construed to interfere with the rights of an agent operating under a valid durable power of attorney for health care; is not to be construed to create a private right of action against a hospital, a hospital employee, or any consultant or contractor with whom a hospital has a contractual relationship, or to otherwise supersede or replace existing rights or remedies under any other provision of law; shall not delay the appropriate discharge or transfer of a patient; is not to be construed to interfere with or supersede a health care provider’s instructions regarding a Medicare-certified home health agency or any other postacute care provider; and is not to be construed to grant decision-making authority to a caregiver to determine the type of provider or provider of the patient’s posthospital care as specified in the patient’s discharge plan.