GA SB485

Inmates in Georgia Department of Corrections custody or county detention facilities must exhaust their facility's internal grievance procedure before filing a complaint against a physician or medical staff with the Georgia Composite Medical Board

The Georgia Composite Medical Board is not required to review complaints from incarcerated persons unless they demonstrate they have completed the internal grievance process or show that no such grievance procedure is available to them

The required patient rights declaration posted in physicians' waiting rooms must be updated to include notice that incarcerated persons cannot file a grievance with the board until they have exhausted their custodian's grievance procedure

The act amends Chapter 34A of Title 43 (Patient Right to Know Act) and takes effect immediately upon the Governor's approval or upon becoming law without approval