S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  5070

                       2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            February 11, 2011
                               ___________

Introduced  by  M. of A. HAYES, HAWLEY, KOLB -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M.
  of A. MONTESANO -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health

AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to  requiring  hospi-
  tals  to  make  the  patients'  bill of rights available by non-visual
  access

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Paragraph  (g)  of  subdivision  1 of section 2803 of the
public health law, as added by chapter 2 of the laws of 1988, is amended
to read as follows:
  (g) The commissioner shall require that every general  hospital  adopt
and  make  public  an identical statement of the rights and responsibil-
ities of patients, including a patient complaint  and  quality  of  care
review process, a right to an appropriate patient discharge plan and for
patients  other  than beneficiaries of title XVIII of the federal social
security act (medicare) a right to a discharge review in accordance with
section twenty-eight hundred three-i  of  this  article.  The  form  and
content  of  such statement shall be determined in accordance with rules
and regulations adopted by the council and approved by the commissioner.
EVERY GENERAL HOSPITAL SHALL MAKE SUCH STATEMENT OF RIGHTS AND RESPONSI-
BILITIES AVAILABLE BY NON-VISUAL ACCESS, WHETHER BY SYNTHESIZED  SPEECH,
BRAILLE, AUDIO OR OTHER APPROPRIATE MEANS NOT REQUIRING SIGHT, FOR BLIND
AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED PATIENTS. A patient who requires continuing health
care  services  in accordance with such patient's discharge plan may not
be discharged until such services  are  secured  or  determined  by  the
hospital  to be reasonably available to the patient. Each general hospi-
tal shall give a copy of the statement to each patient, or the appointed
personal representative of the patient at or prior to the time of admis-
sion to the general hospital, as long as the patient  or  the  appointed
personal  representative  of the patient receives such notice no earlier
than fourteen days  before  admission.  Such  statement  shall  also  be

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD08736-01-1
              

A. 5070                             2

conspicuously  posted  by  the  hospital  and  shall  be  a  part of the
patient's admission package. Nothing herein contained shall be construed
to limit any authority vested in the commissioner pursuant to this arti-
cle related to the operation of hospitals and care and services provided
to patients.
  S 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
it shall have become a law; provided, however, that effective immediate-
ly,  the  addition,  amendment  and/or  repeal of any rule or regulation
necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective  date  are
authorized  and  directed  to  be  made  and completed on or before such
effective date.