Bill Text: NY A07467 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to the use of psychotropic medications in nursing homes and adult care facilities; imposes limits as to time and documentation; requires informed consent under certain circumstances.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 33-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-12 - advanced to third reading cal.409 [A07467 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A07467-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7467 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY May 24, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN, SAYEGH, STECK, SIMON, COOK, GLICK, VANEL, LUNSFORD, L. ROSENTHAL, BRONSON, ZEBROWSKI, THIELE, WILLIAMS, BICHOTTE HERMELYN, CARROLL, FALL, GALLAGHER, FORREST, CRUZ, STIRPE, CLARK, COLTON, SANTABARBARA, HUNTER, JACKSON, ZINERMAN, KELLES, JACOB- SON, OTIS, WALLACE, MEEKS, SILLITTI -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to the use of psycho- tropic medications in nursing homes and adult care facilities 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 2 280-d to read as follows: 3 § 280-d. Use of psychotropic medications in nursing homes and adult 4 care facilities. 1. As used in this section: 5 (a) "psychotropic medication" means a drug that affects brain activ- 6 ities associated with mental processes and behavior, including, but not 7 limited to, antipsychotics, antidepressants, antianxiety drugs or anxio- 8 lytics, and hypnotics; 9 (b) "lawful representative" means, where a patient lacks capacity to 10 consent to health care, a person authorized to consent on behalf of the 11 patient, including, but not limited to, a health care agent authorized 12 by a health care proxy under article twenty-nine-C of this chapter or a 13 surrogate under article twenty-nine-CC of this chapter; 14 (c) "increase" when used in relation to an order for a psychotropic 15 medication, means an increase of the dosage or duration of the medica- 16 tion above the dosage or duration covered by the currently active 17 consent; 18 (d) "health care professional" means a health care professional, 19 licensed, certified or authorized to practice under title eight of the 20 education law, acting within his or her lawful scope of practice, who 21 has authority to order a psychotropic medication; and EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD01548-01-3A. 7467 2 1 (e) "patient" means an individual who is a resident of a residential 2 health care facility as defined in article twenty-eight of this chapter, 3 or an adult care facility certified under section four hundred sixty- 4 one-b of the social services law. 5 2. (a) An order for a psychotropic medication in a nursing home shall 6 include the dosage, frequency, and duration of the order which shall not 7 exceed fourteen days. A health care professional, who is employed by or 8 contracted with a nursing home or adult care facility to provide 9 services to facility residents, or who provides services on site in a 10 nursing home or adult care facility, may not prescribe or increase a 11 prescription for a psychotropic medication for a patient in such facili- 12 ty unless the health care professional has obtained the written informed 13 consent of the patient or the patient's lawful representative, or is 14 acting pursuant to an order under this section, or is acting under 15 subdivision three of this section. Where a patient lacks capacity to 16 consent to health care and lacks a lawful representative, a prescription 17 or increase of a prescription under this section shall be subject to 18 subdivision four of section twenty-nine hundred ninety-four-g of this 19 chapter as if the patient were an inpatient of a general hospital. To 20 constitute informed consent, the following disclosure shall be given to 21 the patient or, where the patient lacks capacity to consent to health 22 care, the patient's lawful representative, in a clear and explicit 23 manner: 24 (i) the reason for the medication, including the nature and serious- 25 ness of the patient's illness, disorder or condition that the medication 26 is intended to treat; 27 (ii) the anticipated benefit from the medication, and the dosage, 28 frequency, and duration of the order; 29 (iii) the probability of side effects and significant risks of the 30 medication, including the nature, degree, and duration of such effects 31 and reasonably known risks; 32 (iv) the reasonable alternative treatments to the proposed medication 33 and the reason that the health care professional prefers the proposed 34 medication in this instance; and 35 (v) that the patient or lawful representative has the right to consent 36 or refuse consent to use of the proposed medication, and that if he or 37 she consents, he or she has the right to revoke his or her consent for 38 any reason, at any time, including a description of how the consent 39 shall be revoked. 40 (b) The health care professional shall document in the patient's 41 medical record the date and time that the informed consent disclosure 42 was provided, and to whom and by whom it was provided, and include the 43 written consent. 44 (c) Where the patient's medical record notes that a family member has 45 requested notification of medication orders or prescriptions, and such 46 notification is otherwise lawful, the health care professional shall 47 cause notice to be provided within forty-eight hours of the 48 prescription, order, or increase of an order or prescription under this 49 section. Such notice shall not be provided if the patient specifically 50 requests that the family member not be given notification. 51 3. A health care professional is not required to obtain consent under 52 this section to issue an order for use of a psychotropic medication for 53 a patient in a nursing home where it is necessary in an emergency to 54 protect against an immediate threat to the life, health or safety of the 55 patient or another person. The medication must be the most appropriate 56 available means of reducing that threat, with the least risk of harmA. 7467 3 1 considering the patient's condition or disorder. The order shall only 2 apply, in the absence of consent, during the emergency. Where an order 3 is made under this subdivision, the health care professional shall imme- 4 diately record the use of the psychotropic medication, the reason for 5 the use, and the dosage, in the patient's medical record; and shall 6 promptly notify the patient or the patient's lawful representative who 7 would have had the authority to consent, and any family member required 8 to be notified under this section and record such notifications in the 9 patient's medical record. 10 4. This section does not increase the lawful scope of practice of any 11 health care professional and does not diminish or impair any requirement 12 for or regulation of consent to health care treatment. 13 5. The commissioner may make regulations to implement this section. 14 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 15 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend- 16 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen- 17 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and 18 completed on or before such effective date.
