N.Y. Public Health Law § 2994-jj: Caregiver; opportunity to identify

§ 2994-jj. Caregiver; opportunity to identify. 1. A hospital shall

provide each patient or, if applicable, the patient's legal guardian

with at least one opportunity to identify at least one caregiver under

this article following the patient's entry into a hospital and prior to

the patient's discharge or transfer to another facility. The hospital

shall inform the patient that the purpose of providing the caregiver's

identity is to include that caregiver in discharge planning and sharing

of post-discharge care information or instruction.

(a) In the event that the patient is unconscious or otherwise

incapacitated upon his or her entry into a hospital, the hospital shall

provide such patient or his/her legal guardian with an opportunity to

identify a caregiver following the patient's recovery of his or her

consciousness or capacity.

(b) In the event that the patient or the patient's legal guardian

declines to identify a caregiver under this article, the hospital shall

promptly document this in the patient's medical record.

(c) The hospital shall record the patient's identification of a

caregiver if given by the patient or legal guardian, the relationship of

the identified caregiver to the patient, and the name, telephone number,

and address of the patient's identified caregiver in the patient's

medical record.

(d) A patient may elect to change his or her identified caregiver at

any time, and the hospital must record this change in the patient's

medical record.

(e) (i) The hospital shall promptly request the written consent of the

patient or the patient's legal guardian to release medical information

to the patient's designated caregiver following the hospital's

established procedure for releasing personal health information and in

compliance with all state and federal laws, including the federal Health

Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 as amended, and

related regulations.

(ii) If the patient or the patient's legal guardian declines to

consent to release medical information to the patient's designated

caregiver, the hospital shall not be required to provide notice to the

caregiver under section twenty-nine hundred ninety-four-kk of this

article or provide information contained in the patient's discharge plan

under section twenty-nine hundred ninety-four-ll of this article.

2. An identification of a caregiver by a patient or a patient's legal

guardian under this section does not obligate any individual to perform

any after-care tasks for any patient.

3. This section shall not be construed to require a patient or a

patient's legal guardian to identify any individual as a caregiver as

defined by this article.