HB 6078 Summary

• Adds definition of "chemical restraint" as a drug used for discipline or convenience that is not required to treat a diagnosed medical symptom, including drugs that manage behavior, restrict movement temporarily, or are not standard treatment for the resident's condition.

• Prohibits physical restraint or chemical restraint of residents except under specific circumstances, requiring consideration of less restrictive interventions first and documentation in the medical record.

• Establishes time limits for restraint: temporary emergency restraint limited to 30 minutes without physician order, authorized restraint limited to 4 hours maximum, and ordered restraint limited to 8 hours maximum.

• Requires restraints be removed every 2 hours for at least 15 minutes unless medically contraindicated, prohibits simultaneous use of physical and chemical restraint, and mandates chemical restraint only be used after physical restraint attempts fail.

• Requires full documentation of each restraint instance in resident records and mandates review and modification of individual service plans when residents are restrained repeatedly to reduce restraint use.