Bill Text: NY A00420 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relates to requiring a medical facility or related service to obtain express prior written consent before filming and/or broadcasting of visual images of a patient's medical treatment.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 19-5)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - ordered to third reading cal.19 [A00420 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A00420-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                           420
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                       (Prefiled)
                                     January 9, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced by M. of A. BRAUNSTEIN, MOSLEY, JAFFEE, M. G. MILLER, ARROYO,
          GOTTFRIED,  ZEBROWSKI,  COOK,  MONTESANO,  FINCH,  SEAWRIGHT,  FRIEND,
          GALEF, HEVESI, WEPRIN -- Multi-Sponsored by --  M.  of  A.  McDONOUGH,
          PALMESANO,   PEOPLES-STOKES,  SCHIMMINGER,  SIMON  --  read  once  and
          referred to the Committee on Health
        AN ACT to amend the public health law  and  the  civil  rights  law,  in
          relation  to  prohibiting  the  making  and/or  broadcasting of visual
          images of individuals undergoing medical treatment without prior writ-
          ten consent
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  The  public health law is amended by adding a new section
     2  2806-c to read as follows:
     3    § 2806-c. Restrictions on broadcasting of patients. 1.  Every  patient
     4  in a health care facility shall have the right to have privacy in treat-
     5  ment and in caring for personal needs, including the broadcasting of the
     6  recognizable  image  or speech of such patient involved in a health care
     7  procedure in such facility, with  the  exception  of  broadcasting  such
     8  image  or speech for the purposes of advancing the health care treatment
     9  of the individual, a quality assurance program, the education or  train-
    10  ing of health care personnel, or necessary security purposes.
    11    2. Such privacy in treatment shall include the obtaining by the health
    12  care  facility  of  express  written consent on a separate document used
    13  solely for such purpose from an individual receiving treatment  in  such
    14  facility  prior to broadcasting the recognizable image or speech of such
    15  patient involved in such treatment. In  the  case  of  broadcasting  the
    16  recognizable  image  or  speech for education or training of health care
    17  personnel, the patient shall have the right to know of  and  shall  have
    18  the  right to refuse the broadcasting for that purpose. A person legally
    19  authorized to make health care decisions for the  patient  or  otherwise
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02693-01-9

        A. 420                              2
     1  authorized to consent may grant such consent or exercise such refusal if
     2  the patient cannot reasonably do so due to such patient's incapacity.
     3    3. For the purposes of this section:
     4    (a) "health care facility" shall mean a residential health care facil-
     5  ity,  general hospital, free-standing ambulatory care facility, diagnos-
     6  tic and/or treatment center and clinic authorized under this article, or
     7  ambulance operated by an ambulance service as defined by subdivision two
     8  of section three thousand one of this chapter or by  a  voluntary  ambu-
     9  lance  service as defined by subdivision three of section three thousand
    10  one of this chapter;
    11    (b) "quality assurance" shall mean any evaluation of services provided
    12  in or by a health care facility for purposes of improvement  in  safety,
    13  quality or outcomes;
    14    (c)  "education  or  training  of  health care personnel" shall mean a
    15  program of education or training of health care  personnel  or  students
    16  being  educated  or trained to be health care personnel, that the health
    17  care facility has authorized;
    18    (d) "broadcasting" of an image or speech shall  mean  transmission  by
    19  broadcast, cable, closed circuit, internet or other television or visual
    20  medium,  social  media,  or  other  system  by which it can be viewed in
    21  violation of the privacy rights and expectations of a patient.  Provided
    22  however, that broadcasting shall not include incidental transmission  of
    23  the  image  or  speech  of  an  individual being treated, transported or
    24  otherwise cared for or attended to by an ambulance service as defined in
    25  subdivision two of section three thousand one of this chapter  or  by  a
    26  voluntary  ambulance  service as defined in subdivision three of section
    27  three thousand one of this chapter,  at  an  ambulance  response  scene,
    28  public  area  or during delivery or admission to a health care facility,
    29  that is captured by news media, bystanders or others who do not have the
    30  written  consent  of  such  ambulance  service  or  voluntary  ambulance
    31  service.
    32    4. Nothing in this section shall diminish or impair any right or reme-
    33  dy otherwise applicable to any patient.
    34    §  2.  Section 50-c of the civil rights law, as amended by chapter 643
    35  of the laws of 1999, is amended to read as follows:
    36    § 50-c. Private right of action.  1. If the identity of the victim  of
    37  an offense defined in subdivision one of section fifty-b of this article
    38  is  disclosed  in  violation of such section, any person injured by such
    39  disclosure may bring an action to recover damages suffered by reason  of
    40  such  wrongful disclosure. In any action brought under this section, the
    41  court may award reasonable [attorney's] attorneys' fees to a  prevailing
    42  plaintiff.
    43    2.  If the privacy of an individual as defined in section twenty-eight
    44  hundred six-c of the public health  law  regarding  the  right  to  have
    45  privacy  in  treatment  and  in caring for personal needs, including the
    46  broadcasting of the recognizable image or speech of a  patient  involved
    47  in  a  health  care procedure in such a facility has been violated, such
    48  individual or his or her estate representative may bring  an  action  to
    49  recover  damages  suffered  by  reason  of such violation. In any action
    50  brought under this section, the court may  award  reasonable  attorneys'
    51  fees to a prevailing plaintiff. The cause of action created herein shall
    52  survive the death of such individual.
    53    3. Nothing in this section shall diminish or impair any right or reme-
    54  dy otherwise applicable to any patient.
    55    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
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