Bill Text: IL SB2309 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Creates the Unidentified Patient Act. Provides that the Act may be referred to as the Elisha Brittman Law. Provides that upon the arrival of an unidentified patient into a hospital's emergency department the hospital shall take specified efforts towards identifying the patient. Requires a hospital to contact the local law enforcement agency and request that a missing person report be completed for an unidentified patient if the specified efforts are not possible or are unsuccessful. Provides that local law enforcement should be requested to enter an unidentified patient into the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Crime Information Center database. Requires hospital staff to contact local law enforcement to perform fingerprinting services in an effort to identify an unidentified patient. Provides that hospital staff shall make a referral to the hospital's public information officer to obtain specified identifying materials and submit them to local media outlets if the fingerprinting services are not possible or are unsuccessful. Provides that if a hospital receives a claim from an individual of being an unidentified patient's next of kin, a DNA sample may be collected from the unidentified patient and the individual and verified either on-site or at an associated laboratory, but must be provided on a voluntary basis and shall be used solely to help identify the unidentified patient and any familial relations. Provides that if law enforcement requests an unidentified patient's information to help identify a suspect, fugitive, material witness, or missing person, the hospital and hospital personnel must disclose only the information allowed under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. Defines terms.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 17-1)

Status: (Failed) 2021-01-13 - Session Sine Die [SB2309 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-SB2309-Introduced.html

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101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2019 and 2020 SB2309 Introduced 11/14/2019, by Sen. Patricia Van Pelt SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
New Act
Creates the Unidentified Patient Act. Provides that the Act may be referred to as the Elisha Brittman Law. Provides that upon the arrival of an unidentified patient into a hospital's emergency department the hospital shall take specified efforts towards identifying the patient. Requires a hospital to contact the local law enforcement agency and request that a missing person report be completed for an unidentified patient if the specified efforts are not possible or are unsuccessful. Provides that local law enforcement should be requested to enter an unidentified patient into the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Crime Information Center database. Requires hospital staff to contact local law enforcement to perform fingerprinting services in an effort to identify an unidentified patient. Provides that hospital staff shall make a referral to the hospital's public information officer to obtain specified identifying materials and submit them to local media outlets if the fingerprinting services are not possible or are unsuccessful. Provides that if a hospital receives a claim from an individual of being an unidentified patient's next of kin, a DNA sample may be collected from the unidentified patient and the individual and verified either on-site or at an associated laboratory, but must be provided on a voluntary basis and shall be used solely to help identify the unidentified patient and any familial relations. Provides that if law enforcement requests an unidentified patient's information to help identify a suspect, fugitive, material witness, or missing person, the hospital and hospital personnel must disclose only the information allowed under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. Defines terms.
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A BILL FOR
SB2309 LRB101 14918 CPF 64754 b
AN ACT concerning health.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title; references to Act.
(a) Short title. This Act may be cited as the Unidentified
Patient Act.
(b) References to Act. This Act may be referred to as the
Elisha Brittman Law.
Section 5. Purpose. This Act is designed to provide
guidance to emergency department staff in developing
procedures for the identification of unidentified patients
that are admitted to a hospital.
Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
"Adequate identification" means the ability of a patient or
escort to positively identify the patient's relevant
information, including, but not limited to, the patient's name,
address, date of birth, or next of kin.
"HIPAA" means the federal Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996.
"Hospital" means any institution licensed under the
Hospital Licensing Act or operated under the University of
Illinois Hospital Act.

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"Missing person report" means a report generated pursuant
to the Missing Persons Identification Act.
"Unidentified patient" means a patient who is brought into
the emergency department of a hospital without any
identification, is unable to self-identify, and the hospital is
unable to obtain adequate identification.
Section 15. Procedure.
(a) Upon the arrival of an unidentified patient into a
hospital's emergency department:
(1) Hospital staff members shall review the patient's
chart and personal belongings and hospital records to
determine if there is any information regarding the
patient's identity.
(2) The hospital's admission staff members shall
notify any centralized information desk or visitor desk of
the unidentified patient so that inquiries are referred to
the appropriate hospital staff as well as any law
enforcement personnel that may be involved.
(3) Detailed physical descriptions should be entered
into the hospital's patient database, along with any
information gathered from emergency medical technicians or
law enforcement personnel.
(b) If initial identification efforts for a patient under
subsection (a) are not possible or are unsuccessful, the
hospital shall contact the local law enforcement agency and

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request that a missing person report be completed for an
unidentified patient who is living or deceased. The law
enforcement agency should be requested to enter the
unidentified patient into the Federal Bureau of
Investigation's National Crime Information Center database as
an Unidentified Living Person or Unidentified Deceased Person.
(c) Hospital staff shall contact local law enforcement to
perform fingerprinting services in an effort to identify an
unidentified patient.
(d) If identification of an unidentified patient is not
possible or is not successful using the fingerprinting process
under subsection (c), hospital staff shall make a referral to
the hospital's public information officer to obtain a
description and, if possible, a photograph of the unidentified
patient, as well as any significant case-specific facts that
may help with identification of the unidentified patient. This
information shall be submitted to local media outlets for
assistance in identification of the unidentified patient, with
an emphasis on the media from where the unidentified patient
was brought in from.
(e) If an unidentified patient is not identified within one
week after publication under subsection (d), the information
submitted to local media outlets shall be submitted to a wider
publication area.
(f) If a hospital receives a claim from an individual of
being an unidentified patient's next of kin, a DNA sample may

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be collected from the unidentified patient and the individual
and verified either on-site or at an associated laboratory. Any
DNA sample collected under this subsection must be provided on
a voluntary basis and shall be used solely to help identify the
unidentified patient and any familial relations.
(g) If law enforcement requests an unidentified patient's
information to help identify a suspect, fugitive, material
witness, or missing person, the hospital and hospital personnel
must disclose only the information allowed under HIPAA,
including only disclosing DNA, dental records, or body fluid as
a means of identification pursuant to a court order, warrant,
or written administrative request.