NC H871

Requires health care providers to obtain prior informed consent from patients, legal guardians, or designated health care agents before performing pelvic or rectal examinations on anesthetized or unconscious patients.

Allows examinations without prior consent only when the patient is incapable of providing consent and the exam is necessary for diagnostic or treatment purposes, or when an emergency exists and obtaining consent is impractical.

Mandates providers obtain verbal consent and provide a separate written or electronic consent document with a 16-point boldface heading specifying the examination's nature, purpose, and named providers authorized to perform it.

Requires the consent document include checkboxes allowing patients to consent to examinations for diagnosis/treatment/evidence collection, educational purposes, trainee participation, or to decline consent entirely.

Establishes a new consent form requirement for each examination prior to anesthesia and classifies violations as a Class A1 misdemeanor; requires licensees to report violations to the Medical Board within 30 days.

Takes effect October 1, 2021, and applies to all examinations on or after that date.