KRS 216B.231: Hospital must allow a patient or patient's legal guardian to designate a

lay caregiver for post-discharge assistance in the patient's residence.

(1) A hospital shall provide each patient or, if applicable, the patient's legal guardian

with at le ast one (1) opportunity to designate one (1) lay caregiver following the

patient's admission into a hospital and prior to the patient's discharge.

(2) If the patient is unconscious or otherwise incapacitated upon admission into a

hospital, the hospital shall provide the patient or the patient's legal guardian with an

opportunity to designate a lay caregiver when the patient recovers his or her

consciousness or capacity, so long as the designation or lack of a designation does

not interfere with, delay, or o therwise affect the medical care provided to the

patient.

(3) If the patient or the patient's legal guardian declines to designate a lay caregiver, the

hospital shall document this election in the patient's medical record, and the hospital

shall be deemed to comply with KRS 216B.230 to 216B.239 .

(4) If the patient or the patient's legal guardian designates an individual as a lay

caregiver under this section, the hospital shall request the written consent of the

patient or the patient's legal guardian to re lease medical information to the patient's

designated lay caregiver following the hospital's established procedures for

releasing personal health information and in compliance with all federal and state

laws.

(5) If the patient or the patient's legal guard ian declines to consent to release medical

information to the patient's designated lay caregiver, the hospital shall not be

required to provide notice to the caregiver under KRS 216B.233 or provide

information contained in the patient's discharge plan under KRS 216B.235.

(6) The hospital shall record the patient's designation of lay caregiver, the relationship

of the designated caregiver to the patient, and the name, telephone number, and

address of the patient's designated lay caregiver in the patient's medical record.

(7) A patient may elect to change his or her designated lay caregiver at any time, and

the hospital shall record this change in the patient's medical record as soon as

practicable.

(8) A designation of a lay caregiver by a patient or a patien t's legal guardian under this

section shall not obligate any individual to perform any after -care tasks for any

patient.

(9) This section shall not be construed to require a patient or a patient's legal guardian

to designate any individual as a lay caregiver.