Bill Text: NY A07617 | 2009-2010 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires a health care practitioner to provide a palliative care information and end of life options to a patient diagnosed with a terminal illness or condition.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 32-1)

Status: (Passed) 2010-08-13 - signed chap.331 [A07617 Detail]

Download: New_York-2009-A07617-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         7617
                              2009-2010 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                    April 17, 2009
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  GOTTFRIED,  MAISEL, BING, PAULIN, GABRYSZAK,
         CHRISTENSEN,  DenDEKKER,  ROSENTHAL,  JACOBS,  DelMONTE,   CYMBROWITZ,
         JAFFEE,  MILLMAN,  GALEF,  TITONE,  SCHIMEL, HOOPER, LANCMAN -- Multi-
         Sponsored by -- M. of A. AMEDORE, DESTITO, FIELDS, JOHN, KOON,  LUPAR-
         DO,  MARKEY,  McENENY, MENG, PHEFFER, RUSSELL, SWEENEY, TOWNS, WEISEN-
         BERG, WRIGHT -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health
       AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to a patient's  right
         to palliative care information
         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  2997-c to read as follows:
    3    S 2997-C. PALLIATIVE CARE PATIENT INFORMATION. 1. DEFINITIONS. AS USED
    4  IN  THIS SECTION, THE FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS,
    5  UNLESS THE CONTEXT CLEARLY REQUIRES OTHERWISE:
    6    (A) "APPROPRIATE" MEANS CONSISTENT WITH APPLICABLE LEGAL,  HEALTH  AND
    7  PROFESSIONAL  STANDARDS; THE PATIENT'S CLINICAL AND OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES;
    8  AND THE PATIENT'S REASONABLY KNOWN WISHES AND BELIEFS.
    9    (B) "ATTENDING HEALTH CARE PRACTITIONER" MEANS A  PHYSICIAN  OR  NURSE
   10  PRACTITIONER  WHO  HAS PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CARE AND TREATMENT
   11  OF THE PATIENT. WHERE MORE THAN  ONE  PHYSICIAN  OR  NURSE  PRACTITIONER
   12  SHARE  THAT  RESPONSIBILITY,  EACH OF THEM HAS RESPONSIBILITY UNDER THIS
   13  SECTION, UNLESS THEY AGREE TO ASSIGN THAT RESPONSIBILITY TO ONE OF THEM.
   14    (C) "PALLIATIVE CARE" MEANS HEALTH CARE TREATMENT, INCLUDING INTERDIS-
   15  CIPLINARY END-OF-LIFE CARE, AND CONSULTATION WITH  PATIENTS  AND  FAMILY
   16  MEMBERS,  TO  PREVENT  OR  RELIEVE PAIN AND SUFFERING AND TO ENHANCE THE
   17  PATIENT'S QUALITY OF LIFE, INCLUDING HOSPICE CARE UNDER ARTICLE FORTY OF
   18  THIS CHAPTER.
   19    (D) "TERMINAL ILLNESS OR CONDITION"  MEANS  AN  ILLNESS  OR  CONDITION
   20  WHICH  CAN  REASONABLY  BE  EXPECTED  TO  CAUSE DEATH WITHIN SIX MONTHS,
   21  WHETHER OR NOT TREATMENT IS PROVIDED.
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
       A                                                          LBD11098-02-9
       A. 7617                             2
    1    2. IF A PATIENT IS DIAGNOSED WITH A TERMINAL ILLNESS OR CONDITION, THE
    2  PATIENT'S ATTENDING HEALTH CARE PRACTITIONER SHALL OFFER TO PROVIDE  THE
    3  PATIENT  WITH  INFORMATION  AND COUNSELING REGARDING PALLIATIVE CARE AND
    4  END-OF-LIFE OPTIONS APPROPRIATE TO THE PATIENT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMIT-
    5  ED  TO:  THE RANGE OF OPTIONS APPROPRIATE TO THE PATIENT; THE PROGNOSIS,
    6  RISKS AND BENEFITS OF THE  VARIOUS  OPTIONS;  AND  THE  PATIENT'S  LEGAL
    7  RIGHTS  TO COMPREHENSIVE PAIN AND SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT AT THE END OF LIFE.
    8  THE INFORMATION AND COUNSELING MAY BE PROVIDED  ORALLY  OR  IN  WRITING.
    9  WHERE  THE  PATIENT  LACKS  CAPACITY  TO  REASONABLY UNDERSTAND AND MAKE
   10  INFORMED CHOICES RELATING TO PALLIATIVE CARE, THE ATTENDING HEALTH  CARE
   11  PRACTITIONER SHALL PROVIDE INFORMATION AND COUNSELING UNDER THIS SECTION
   12  TO  A  PERSON  WITH  AUTHORITY  TO  MAKE  HEALTH  CARE DECISIONS FOR THE
   13  PATIENT.  THE ATTENDING HEALTH CARE PRACTITIONER MAY ARRANGE FOR  INFOR-
   14  MATION  AND  COUNSELING  UNDER  THIS  SECTION  TO BE PROVIDED BY ANOTHER
   15  PROFESSIONALLY QUALIFIED INDIVIDUAL.
   16    3. WHERE THE ATTENDING HEALTH CARE  PRACTITIONER  IS  NOT  WILLING  TO
   17  PROVIDE  THE PATIENT WITH INFORMATION AND COUNSELING UNDER THIS SECTION,
   18  HE OR SHE SHALL ARRANGE FOR ANOTHER PHYSICIAN OR NURSE  PRACTITIONER  TO
   19  DO  SO,  OR  SHALL REFER OR TRANSFER THE PATIENT TO ANOTHER PHYSICIAN OR
   20  NURSE PRACTITIONER WILLING TO DO SO.
   21    S 2. Paragraph (f) of subdivision 1  of  section  207  of  the  public
   22  health  law,  as added by chapter 573 of the laws of 2008, is relettered
   23  paragraph (g) and a new paragraph (h) is added to read as follows:
   24    (H) PALLIATIVE CARE OPTIONS FOR PATIENTS WITH A  TERMINAL  ILLNESS  OR
   25  CONDITION.
   26    S  3.  The  department of health shall consult with the New York state
   27  palliative care education and training council, as established in subdi-
   28  vision 6 of section 2807-n of  the  public  health  law,  in  developing
   29  educational documents and rules and regulations related to this act.
   30    S 4. This act shall take effect immediately, provided that section one
   31  of  this  act  shall  take effect one hundred eighty days after it shall
   32  have become a law.