Bill Text: NY A01673 | 2009-2010 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Requires health care providers (i.e., an entity licensed/certified under certain articles of the public health law or the mental hygiene law, a health care practitioner licensed/registered/certified under title eight of the education law, or a provider of pharmaceutical products/services or durable medical equipment) to disclose errors in diagnosis, treatment or other services that the provider knows has caused substantial harm or significant risk of substantial harm; provides there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the provider knew of the error and the harm or risk of harm if, under the circumstances, the provider reasonably should have had knowledge thereof; provides such disclosure shall be made within a reasonable period of time and be reasonably understandable.
Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 17-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-06-16 - reported referred to rules [A01673 Detail]
Download: New_York-2009-A01673-Amended.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
1673--A
2009-2010 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
(PREFILED)
January 7, 2009
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GOTTFRIED, GANTT, MAGNARELLI, MAYERSOHN, McENENY,
PAULIN, PERRY, POWELL, GALEF -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BREN-
NAN, COLTON, DINOWITZ, HOOPER, JACOBS, J. MILLER, PHEFFER, WEINSTEIN,
WRIGHT -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health -- recom-
mitted to the Committee on Health in accordance with Assembly Rule 3,
sec. 2 -- reported and referred to the Committee on Codes -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring health
care providers to inform patients or their representatives of certain
errors in diagnosis, treatment or other services
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
1 Section 1. Legislative findings. The legislature finds that the Ameri-
2 can Medical Association (AMA) has expressed its support for physicians
3 providing full disclosure to their patients regarding their medical
4 treatments and conditions. The AMA's council on ethical and judicial
5 affairs has stated: "It is a fundamental ethical requirement that a
6 physician should at all times deal honestly and openly with patients.
7 Patients have a right to know their past and present medical status and
8 to be free of any mistaken beliefs concerning their conditions. Situ-
9 ations occasionally occur in which a patient suffers significant medical
10 complications that may have resulted from the physician's mistake or
11 judgment. In these situations, the physician is ethically required to
12 inform the patient of all the facts necessary to ensure understanding of
13 what has occurred. Only through full disclosure is a patient able to
14 make informed decisions regarding future medical care." The AMA adds:
15 "Concern regarding legal liability which might result following truthful
16 disclosure should not affect the physician's honesty with a patient."
17 (code of medical ethics: current opinions of the council on ethical and
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00978-02-0
A. 1673--A 2
1 judicial affairs, AMA Policy Finder, E-8.12, updated June, 1994.) The
2 legislature further finds that this ethical mandate ought to have the
3 support of law, and ought to apply not only to physicians, but to all
4 health care providers.
5 S 2. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 2805-u
6 to read as follows:
7 S 2805-U. HEALTH CARE PROVIDER; DUTY TO INFORM PATIENT OF ERROR. 1.
8 DEFINITION. AS USED IN THIS SECTION, "HEALTH CARE PROVIDER" MEANS AN
9 ENTITY LICENSED OR CERTIFIED UNDER THIS ARTICLE OR ARTICLE THIRTY-SIX OF
10 THIS CHAPTER OR UNDER ARTICLE THIRTY-ONE OR THIRTY-TWO OF THE MENTAL
11 HYGIENE LAW, A HEALTH CARE PRACTITIONER LICENSED, REGISTERED OR CERTI-
12 FIED UNDER TITLE EIGHT OF THE EDUCATION LAW, OR A PROVIDER OF PHARMACEU-
13 TICAL PRODUCTS OR SERVICES OR DURABLE MEDICAL EQUIPMENT.
14 2. A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER SHALL DISCLOSE TO HIS, HER, OR ITS PATIENT
15 OR THE PATIENT'S REPRESENTATIVE, ANY ERROR IN DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT OR
16 OTHER SERVICE BY THE HEALTH CARE PROVIDER THAT THE HEALTH CARE PROVIDER
17 KNOWS HAS CAUSED SUBSTANTIAL HARM OR SIGNIFICANT RISK OF SUBSTANTIAL
18 HARM TO THE PATIENT. THERE SHALL BE A REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION THAT THE
19 HEALTH CARE PROVIDER KNEW OF SUCH ERROR AND OF SUCH HARM OR RISK OF HARM
20 IF, UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES, THE HEALTH CARE PROVIDER REASONABLY SHOULD
21 HAVE HAD KNOWLEDGE THEREOF. THE DISCLOSURE SHALL BE MADE WITHIN A
22 REASONABLE PERIOD OF TIME AND BE REASONABLY UNDERSTANDABLE TO THE
23 PATIENT OR THE PATIENT'S REPRESENTATIVE, AND SHALL INCLUDE A STATEMENT
24 OF THE HARM OR RISK OF HARM.
25 3. A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR FAILURE TO DISCLOSE
26 AN ERROR, HARM OR RISK OF HARM UNDER THIS SECTION IF THE HEALTH CARE
27 PROVIDER REASONABLY BELIEVES THAT SUCH DISCLOSURE HAS ALREADY BEEN MADE
28 BY ANOTHER HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.
29 S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
