Bill Text: NY S02321 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to the rights of patients to receive medical information in an understandable format; provides that such information and documents shall avoid the use of medical terminology and instead use words with common and everyday meanings to facilitate understandability.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO HEALTH [S02321 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S02321-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2321

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 19, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  BAILEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Health

        AN ACT to amend the public health law, in  relation  to  the  rights  of
          patients to receive medical information in an understandable format

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 2803 of the public health  law  is
     2  amended by adding a new paragraph (m) to read as follows:
     3    (m)  The  statement  regarding  patient  rights  and responsibilities,
     4  required pursuant to paragraph (g) of this subdivision, shall include  a
     5  provision  informing the patient of his or her right to receive informa-
     6  tion and documents including, but not limited to information  and  docu-
     7  ments  related to such patient's discharge, diagnosis, treatment or test
     8  results in plain English or in a language or format that is  understand-
     9  able  to  the  patient  or such patient's family or caregiver.  Wherever
    10  practicable, such information and  documents  shall  avoid  the  use  of
    11  medical terminology and instead use words with common and everyday mean-
    12  ings  to  facilitate understandability.   Such information and documents
    13  shall be  in  addition  to  the  information  and  documents  ordinarily
    14  received by the patient or such patient's family or caregiver.
    15    §  2.  Subdivision  3  of  section  2803-c of the public health law is
    16  amended by adding a new paragraph s to read as follows:
    17    s. A statement informing the patient of his or her  right  to  receive
    18  information  and documents including, but not limited to information and
    19  documents related to such patient's discharge, diagnosis,  treatment  or
    20  test  results in plain English or in a language or format that is under-
    21  standable to the patient or such patient's family or caregiver.  Wherev-
    22  er practicable, such information and documents shall avoid  the  use  of
    23  medical terminology and instead use words with common and everyday mean-
    24  ings  to  facilitate understandability.   Such information and documents

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05648-01-3
        S. 2321                             2

     1  shall be  in  addition  to  the  information  and  documents  ordinarily
     2  received by the patient or such patient's family or caregiver.
     3    § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
     4  it  shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
     5  ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
     6  tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made on or
     7  before such date.