NY State Senate Bill 2023-S2321

Senate Bill S2321

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Relates to the rights of patients to receive medical information in an understandable format

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2024	referred to health
Jan 19, 2023	referred to health

2023-S2321 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Health
Law Section:: Public Health Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§2803 & 2803-c, Pub Health L
Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:: S7094

2023-S2321 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to the rights of patients to receive medical information in an understandable format; provides that such information and documents shall avoid the use of medical terminology and instead use words with common and everyday meanings to facilitate understandability.

2023-S2321 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S2321

SPONSOR: BAILEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to the rights of
patients to receive medical information in an understandable format

 
PURPOSE:

The purpose of this bill is to ensure that patients receive pertinent
medical information in a format they understand.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one of the bill amends subdivision 1 of section 2803 of the
public health law by adding a new paragraph mandating that a statement
regarding patient rights informs a patient of their right to receive
information and documents pertaining to their discharge, diagnosis,
treatment, or test results in plain English or in a language or format
that is understandable to them or their family or caregiver.

Section two makes the same amendments to subdivision 3 of section 2803-c
of the public health law.

Both sections specify that documents given to patients that satisfy the
requirements of the bill will be in addition to the information and
documents they ordinarily receive.

The third section sets forth the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

New York already has robust protections in place for patients, but
recent news reports concerning the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic highlight
how the use of medical jargon exacerbates existing health disparities.
While there are laws and regulations in place to help facilitate
language access for patients, the Public Health Law appears to be silent
on the issue of understandability. This bill would make it mandatory for
hospitals to consider both language access and understandability when
relaying pertinent medical information to patients.

 
FISCAL IMPACT:

None.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2021-22: S.7094 - Referred to Health

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it
shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment
and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation
of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made on or before
such date.

2023-S2321 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2321
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 19, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  BAILEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
 
 AN ACT to amend the public health law, in  relation  to  the  rights  of
   patients to receive medical information in an understandable format
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 2803 of the public health  law  is
 amended by adding a new paragraph (m) to read as follows:
   (M)  THE  STATEMENT  REGARDING  PATIENT  RIGHTS  AND RESPONSIBILITIES,
 REQUIRED PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (G) OF THIS SUBDIVISION, SHALL INCLUDE  A
 PROVISION  INFORMING THE PATIENT OF HIS OR HER RIGHT TO RECEIVE INFORMA-
 TION AND DOCUMENTS INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO INFORMATION  AND  DOCU-
 MENTS  RELATED TO SUCH PATIENT'S DISCHARGE, DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT OR TEST
 RESULTS IN PLAIN ENGLISH OR IN A LANGUAGE OR FORMAT THAT IS  UNDERSTAND-
 ABLE  TO  THE  PATIENT  OR SUCH PATIENT'S FAMILY OR CAREGIVER.  WHEREVER
 PRACTICABLE, SUCH INFORMATION AND  DOCUMENTS  SHALL  AVOID  THE  USE  OF
 MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY AND INSTEAD USE WORDS WITH COMMON AND EVERYDAY MEAN-
 INGS  TO  FACILITATE UNDERSTANDABILITY.   SUCH INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTS
 SHALL BE  IN  ADDITION  TO  THE  INFORMATION  AND  DOCUMENTS  ORDINARILY
 RECEIVED BY THE PATIENT OR SUCH PATIENT'S FAMILY OR CAREGIVER.
   §  2.  Subdivision  3  of  section  2803-c of the public health law is
 amended by adding a new paragraph s to read as follows:
   S. A STATEMENT INFORMING THE PATIENT OF HIS OR HER  RIGHT  TO  RECEIVE
 INFORMATION  AND DOCUMENTS INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO INFORMATION AND
 DOCUMENTS RELATED TO SUCH PATIENT'S DISCHARGE, DIAGNOSIS,  TREATMENT  OR
 TEST  RESULTS IN PLAIN ENGLISH OR IN A LANGUAGE OR FORMAT THAT IS UNDER-
 STANDABLE TO THE PATIENT OR SUCH PATIENT'S FAMILY OR CAREGIVER.  WHEREV-
 ER PRACTICABLE, SUCH INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTS SHALL AVOID  THE  USE  OF
 MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY AND INSTEAD USE WORDS WITH COMMON AND EVERYDAY MEAN-
 INGS  TO  FACILITATE UNDERSTANDABILITY.   SUCH INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTS
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD05648-01-3
 S. 2321                             2

 
 SHALL BE  IN  ADDITION  TO  THE  INFORMATION  AND  DOCUMENTS  ORDINARILY
 RECEIVED BY THE PATIENT OR SUCH PATIENT'S FAMILY OR CAREGIVER.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
 it  shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made on or
 before such date.

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