HB2915 EnrolledLRB099 09290 RPS 29494 b

1    AN ACT concerning regulation.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Caregiver Advise, Record, and Enable Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
7    "After care" means clinical assistance to a patient
8provided by a caregiver in the patient's residence following
9the patient's discharge from an inpatient hospital stay that is
10related to the patient's condition at the time of discharge, as
11determined appropriate by the discharging physician or other
12health care professional. Clinical assistance may include
13activities of daily living or medication management.
14    "Caregiver" means any individual designated by a patient to
15provide after care to a patient. A designated caregiver may
16include, but is not limited to, a relative, spouse, partner,
17friend, or neighbor.
18    "Discharge" means a patient's release from a hospital to
19the patient's residence following an inpatient admission.
20    "Hospital" means a hospital that provides general acute
21care that is either licensed under the Hospital Licensing Act
22or operated under the University of Illinois Hospital Act.
23    "Legal representative" means a personal representative

 

 

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1having designated legal status, including an agent designated
2through a power of attorney.
3    "Patient" means an individual admitted to a hospital as an
4inpatient. "Patient" does not include a pediatric patient or a
5patient who is not capable of designating a caregiver due to a
6health care condition or other circumstances, as determined by
7the health care provider.
8    "Residence" means a dwelling that the patient considers to
9be the patient's home. "Residence" does not include a
10rehabilitation facility, hospital, nursing home, assisted
11living establishment, group home licensed by the Department of
12Public Health or the Department of Human Services, or a
13State-operated facility.
 
14    Section 10. Opportunity to designate a caregiver.
15    (a) A hospital shall provide each patient or, if
16applicable, the patient's legal representative with an
17opportunity to designate a caregiver following the patient's
18admission into the hospital as an inpatient and prior to the
19patient's discharge to the patient's residence or transfer to
20another facility.
21    (b) In the event that a patient is unconscious or otherwise
22incapacitated, the hospital shall provide the patient or the
23patient's legal representative with an opportunity to
24designate a caregiver within a timeframe deemed appropriate by
25the attending physician or other licensed health care provider.

 

 

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1    (c) If a patient or legal representative declines to
2designate a caregiver pursuant to this Act, the hospital shall
3document this declination in the patient's medical record and
4has no further responsibilities under this Act.
5    (d) If a patient or the patient's legal representative
6designates an individual as a caregiver under this Act, the
7hospital shall record the patient's designation of caregiver,
8the relationship of the designated caregiver to the patient,
9and the name, telephone number, and address of the patient's
10designated caregiver in the patient's medical record.
11    (e) A patient may elect to change his or her designated
12caregiver at any time, and the hospital must record this change
13in the patient's medical record and thereafter treat the newly
14named person as the designated caregiver.
15    (f) A designation of a caregiver by a patient or the
16patient's legal representative does not obligate any
17individual to provide any after care for the patient.
18    (g) This Section shall not be construed to require a
19patient or a patient's legal representative to designate an
20individual as a caregiver under this Act.
 
21    Section 15. Notice to designated caregiver. A hospital
22shall notify a patient's designated caregiver of the patient's
23discharge or transfer to another hospital or facility licensed
24by the Department of Public Health as soon as possible prior to
25the patient's actual discharge or transfer and, in any event,

 

 

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1upon issuance of a discharge order by the patient's attending
2physician, unless the patient indicates he or she does not wish
3the designated caregiver to be so notified. In the event the
4hospital is unable to contact the designated caregiver, the
5lack of contact shall not interfere with, delay, or otherwise
6affect the medical care provided to the patient or an
7appropriate discharge or transfer of the patient.
 
8    Section 20. Instruction to designated caregiver.
9    (a) As soon as possible prior to a patient's discharge from
10a hospital to the patient's residence, the hospital shall
11consult with the designated caregiver and issue a discharge
12plan that describes a patient's after care needs, if any, at
13the patient's residence. The consultation and issuance of a
14discharge plan shall occur on a schedule that takes into
15consideration the severity of the patient's condition and the
16urgency of the need for caregiver services. In the event the
17hospital is unable to contact the designated caregiver, the
18lack of contact shall not interfere with, delay, or otherwise
19affect the medical care provided to the patient or an
20appropriate discharge of the patient. At a minimum, the
21discharge plan shall include:
22        (1) A description of the after care deemed appropriate
23    by the discharging physician or other health care
24    professional.
25        (2) Contact information for any health care, clinical

 

 

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1    community resources, and long-term services and supports
2    that may be helpful in carrying out the patient's discharge
3    plan, and contact information for an individual designated
4    by the hospital who can respond to questions about the
5    discharge plan.
6    (b) The hospital issuing the discharge plan must make an
7effort to provide or arrange for the designated caregiver to
8receive instructions in after care described in the discharge
9plan. Training and instructions for caregivers may be conducted
10in person or through video technology. Any training or
11instructions to a caregiver shall be provided in non-technical
12language, to the extent possible. At a minimum, this
13instruction shall include:
14        (1) A live or recorded demonstration of the tasks
15    performed by an individual designated by the hospital who
16    is authorized to perform the after care and is able to
17    perform the demonstration in a culturally-competent
18    manner, in accordance with the hospital's requirements to
19    provide language access services under State and federal
20    law and in accordance with the hospital's procedures for
21    providing education to patients and family caregivers.
22        (2) An opportunity for the caregiver to ask questions
23    about the after care.
24        (3) Answers provided in a culturally competent manner
25    and in accordance with State and federal law.
26    (c) In the event the designated caregiver cannot be

 

 

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1reached, is not available, or is not willing to receive the
2instruction, the lack of contact or instruction shall not
3interfere with, delay, or otherwise affect an appropriate
4discharge of the patient.
 
5    Section 25. Non-interference with health care directives.
6Nothing in this Act shall be construed to interfere with the
7rights of an agent operating under a valid health care
8directive or valid power of attorney.
 
9    Section 30. No private right of action. Nothing in this Act
10shall be construed to create a private right of action against
11a hospital, a hospital affiliate, a hospital employee, or a
12consultant or contractor with whom a hospital has a contractual
13relationship solely for providing instruction to a designated
14caregiver, as described in Section 20 of this Act.
15    A hospital, a hospital affiliate, a hospital employee, or a
16consultant or contractor with whom a hospital has a contractual
17relationship shall not be held liable, except for willful or
18wanton misconduct, for services rendered or not rendered by the
19caregiver to the patient.
20    Nothing in this Act shall delay the discharge of a patient
21or the transfer of a patient from a hospital to another
22facility.
 
23    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect 180 days
24after becoming law.