HF210 Summary

• Hospitals must provide patients or their agents an opportunity to designate at least one caregiver within 24 hours of entry and before discharge, or within 24 hours of recovery if patient is initially unconscious or incapacitated.

• Hospitals must record the designated caregiver's information in the patient's medical record and obtain written consent from the patient to release medical information to the caregiver, following federal and state privacy laws.

• Hospitals must notify the designated caregiver of the patient's discharge as soon as practicable and may not delay discharge if the caregiver cannot be reached, provided good faith contact efforts are documented.

• Prior to discharge to the patient's residence, hospitals must consult with the designated caregiver and patient to issue a discharge plan that includes the caregiver's contact information, descriptions and instructions for all aftercare tasks, and contact information for relevant health care resources and a hospital representative.

• Aftercare instructions must include live demonstrations or video instruction of tasks performed by qualified hospital employees or contractors and an opportunity for the caregiver and patient to ask questions, provided in a culturally competent manner with language access services.

• The law does not create a separate private cause of action, establish a new standard of care, or require patients to designate a caregiver; effective January 1, 2016.