Bill Text: NY A10378 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires hospitals to provide language assistance services to a patient or a patient's assistant for communication of clinical and other information, including but not limited to health care, billing and making appointments, to ensure effective communication; provides that such interpreter may be a qualified interpreter, volunteer or medical personnel at such hospital; provides for such services to be available at all locations during all times that patient care is available; provides that transactions of frequently used forms essential to a patient's care and treatment be available in all of the hospital's primary language; provides for training of those providing interpretation services; requires the hospital to submit to the commissioner an annual report assessing compliance; defines primary language and patient visits.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-06-05 - reported referred to rules [A10378 Detail]

Download: New_York-2011-A10378-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         10378
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                     May 24, 2012
                                      ___________
       Introduced by M. of A. KAVANAGH -- read once and referred to the Commit-
         tee on Health
       AN  ACT  to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring hospi-
         tals to provide language assistance services
         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  2803-t to read as follows:
    3    S 2803-T. PROVISION OF LANGUAGE ASSISTANCE. 1.  EVERY  HOSPITAL  SHALL
    4  PROVIDE  LANGUAGE  ASSISTANCE SERVICES TO A PATIENT OR PATIENT ASSISTANT
    5  SO AS TO ENSURE THAT ALL PATIENTS  WHO  CANNOT  SPEAK,  READ,  WRITE  OR
    6  UNDERSTAND  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE  WITH  THE  PROFICIENCY NECESSARY FOR
    7  ADEQUATE COMMUNICATION WITH HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS  AND  OTHER  PERSONNEL
    8  HAVE EFFECTIVE ACCESS TO THE HOSPITAL'S PROGRAMS AND SERVICES, INCLUDING
    9  BUT  NOT LIMITED TO HEALTH CARE, BILLING AND MAKING APPOINTMENTS.  EVERY
   10  HOSPITAL SHALL ENSURE THAT ALL INDIVIDUALS PROVIDING LANGUAGE ASSISTANCE
   11  SERVICES TO PATIENTS HAVE SUFFICIENT FLUENCY IN  BOTH  ENGLISH  AND  THE
   12  RELEVANT  LANGUAGE  TO COMMUNICATE CLINICAL AND OTHER INFORMATION NECES-
   13  SARY FOR THE PATIENT TO ACCESS SERVICES.   LANGUAGE ASSISTANCE  SERVICES
   14  FOR  PRIMARY  AND  NON-PRIMARY  LANGUAGES  SHALL  BE  AVAILABLE  AT  ALL
   15  LOCATIONS DURING ALL TIMES THAT PATIENT CARE IS AVAILABLE, AND SHALL, TO
   16  THE EXTENT PRACTICABLE, BE  PROVIDED  IN  PERSON.  TRANSLATIONS  OF  ALL
   17  FREQUENTLY USED FORMS, AND OTHER WRITTEN MATERIALS THAT ARE ESSENTIAL TO
   18  A  PATIENT'S  CARE  AND  TREATMENT OR ARE OTHERWISE NECESSARY TO PROVIDE
   19  ADEQUATE ACCESS TO THE HOSPITAL'S SERVICES SHALL BE AVAILABLE IN ALL  OF
   20  THE  HOSPITAL'S  PRIMARY  LANGUAGES.  EVERY  HOSPITAL  SHALL DEVELOP AND
   21  IMPLEMENT A COMPREHENSIVE  LANGUAGE  ASSISTANCE  PLAN  THAT  ESTABLISHES
   22  UNIFORM  POLICIES  AND  PROCEDURES  FOR  PROVIDING  LANGUAGE  ASSISTANCE
   23  SERVICES, INCLUDING PROCEDURES FOR  DOCUMENTING  THE  PROVISION  OF,  OR
   24  REFUSAL  OF, LANGUAGE ASSISTANCE SERVICES, AND THAT REQUIRES TRAINING TO
   25  ENSURE THAT ALL STAFF WHO HAVE CONTACT WITH  PATIENTS  COMPLY  WITH  THE
   26  PLAN,  AND  THAT  ALL  STAFF  MEMBERS WHO PROVIDE MEDICAL INTERPRETATION
   27  SERVICES IN PRIMARY LANGUAGES HAVE RECEIVED TRAINING IN  MEDICAL  INTER-
   28  PRETATION. SUCH INDIVIDUAL PROVIDING LANGUAGE ASSISTANCE SERVICES MAY BE
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD02172-01-1
       A. 10378                            2
    1  A  QUALIFIED  INTERPRETER, VOLUNTARY WORKER OR OTHER PERSONNEL CURRENTLY
    2  EMPLOYED BY SAID HOSPITAL AND MAY PERFORM OTHER DUTIES  AS  DIRECTED  BY
    3  THE HOSPITAL.
    4    2.   THE  STATEMENT  REGARDING  PATIENT  RIGHTS  AND  RESPONSIBILITIES
    5  REQUIRED PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (G) OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF  SECTION  TWEN-
    6  TY-EIGHT HUNDRED THREE OF THIS ARTICLE SHALL INCLUDE A PROVISION NOTIFY-
    7  ING  PATIENTS  OF  THE  AVAILABILITY  OF  LANGUAGE  ASSISTANCE SERVICES,
    8  INCLUDING ORAL INTERPRETATION AND TRANSLATIONS OF FORMS AND OTHER  MATE-
    9  RIALS.  NOTICE OF THE AVAILABILITY OF LANGUAGE ASSISTANCE SERVICES SHALL
   10  ALSO BE POSTED IN CONSPICUOUS LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT THE HOSPITAL  AND  IN
   11  OUTPATIENT CLINICS, IN ALL PRIMARY LANGUAGES.
   12    3.  (A)  EVERY  HOSPITAL  SHALL  SUBMIT  TO THE COMMISSIONER AN ANNUAL
   13  REPORT ASSESSING ITS COMPLIANCE WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF  THIS  SECTION.
   14  THE  REPORT  SHALL  IDENTIFY THE PRIMARY LANGUAGES USED BY ITS PATIENTS,
   15  AND THE PERCENTAGE OF THE HOSPITAL'S PATIENTS WHO SPEAK EACH SUCH PRIMA-
   16  RY LANGUAGE.
   17    (B) THE HOSPITAL SHALL MAINTAIN  A  RECORD  OF  THE  FOREIGN  LANGUAGE
   18  PRIMARILY SPOKEN BY ANY PATIENT SEEKING OR RECEIVING LANGUAGE ASSISTANCE
   19  SERVICES  AT THE HOSPITAL. SUCH INFORMATION SHALL BE RECORDED WHETHER OR
   20  NOT SUCH PATIENT ACTUALLY OBTAINS SUCH SERVICES.
   21    4.  THE COMMISSIONER SHALL PROMULGATE SUCH RULES  AND  REGULATIONS  AS
   22  MAY BE NECESSARY AND PROPER TO IMPLEMENT THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION,
   23  WHICH SHALL INCLUDE THE METHODOLOGY TO BE USED BY HOSPITALS IN DETERMIN-
   24  ING PRIMARY LANGUAGES.
   25    5. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION:
   26    (A)  "PRIMARY  LANGUAGE"  MEANS  A LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH THAT IS
   27  EITHER (I) USED TO COMMUNICATE, DURING AT LEAST ONE PERCENT  OF  PATIENT
   28  VISITS  IN  A  YEAR, BY PATIENTS WHO CANNOT SPEAK, READ, WRITE OR UNDER-
   29  STAND THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AT THE LEVEL  OF  PROFICIENCY  NECESSARY  FOR
   30  EFFECTIVE  COMMUNICATION  WITH  HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS; OR (II) SPOKEN BY
   31  NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING INDIVIDUALS COMPRISING MORE THAN ONE PERCENT OF THE
   32  PRIMARY HOSPITAL SERVICE AREA POPULATION, AS CALCULATED BY  USING  DEMO-
   33  GRAPHIC  INFORMATION  AVAILABLE  FROM  THE  UNITED  STATES BUREAU OF THE
   34  CENSUS, SUPPLEMENTED BY DATA FROM SCHOOL SYSTEMS;
   35    (B) "PATIENT VISITS" SHALL INCLUDE ALL VISITS BY PATIENTS TO EMERGENCY
   36  ROOMS AND OUTPATIENT CLINICS, AS WELL AS  INPATIENT  ADMISSIONS  OF  THE
   37  HOSPITAL;
   38    (C)  "PATIENT  ASSISTANT" SHALL MEAN AN INDIVIDUAL WHO COMMUNICATES ON
   39  BEHALF OF ANOTHER WHO, BY REASON OF AGE OR INCAPACITY,  CANNOT  COMMUNI-
   40  CATE FOR HIMSELF OR HERSELF; AND
   41    (D) "HOSPITAL" SHALL MEAN A GENERAL HOSPITAL AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION
   42  TEN OF SECTION TWENTY-EIGHT HUNDRED ONE OF THIS ARTICLE.
   43    6.  NOTHING  IN  THIS  SECTION  SHALL PRECLUDE MEDICAL FACILITIES FROM
   44  PROVIDING LANGUAGE ASSISTANCE SERVICES IN  ADDITION  TO  THOSE  REQUIRED
   45  UNDER THIS SECTION.
   46    S 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
   47  it shall have become a law.