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Senate Bill S7094

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Relates to the rights of patients to receive medical information in an understandable format

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

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2021-S7094 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:
Senate Health
Law Section:
Public Health Law
Laws Affected:
Amd §§2803 & 2803-c, Pub Health L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:
2023-2024: S2321
2025-2026: S4566

2021-S7094 (ACTIVE) - Summary

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.

2021-S7094 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2021-S7094 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf 

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7094
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 28, 2021
                                ___________
 
 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:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 2803 of the public health  law  is
 amended by adding a new paragraph (m) to read as follows:
   (M)  THE  STATEMENT  REGARDING  PATIENT  RIGHTS  AND RESPONSIBILITIES,
 REQUIRED PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (G) OF THIS SUBDIVISION, SHALL INCLUDE  A
 PROVISION  INFORMING THE PATIENT OF HIS OR HER RIGHT TO RECEIVE INFORMA-
 TION AND DOCUMENTS INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO INFORMATION  AND  DOCU-
 MENTS  RELATED TO SUCH PATIENT'S DISCHARGE, DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT OR TEST
 RESULTS IN PLAIN ENGLISH OR IN A LANGUAGE OR FORMAT THAT IS  UNDERSTAND-
 ABLE  TO  THE  PATIENT  OR SUCH PATIENT'S FAMILY OR CAREGIVER.  WHEREVER
 PRACTICABLE, SUCH INFORMATION AND  DOCUMENTS  SHALL  AVOID  THE  USE  OF
 MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY AND INSTEAD USE WORDS WITH COMMON AND EVERYDAY MEAN-
 INGS  TO  FACILITATE UNDERSTANDABILITY.   SUCH INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTS
 SHALL BE  IN  ADDITION  TO  THE  INFORMATION  AND  DOCUMENTS  ORDINARILY
 RECEIVED BY THE PATIENT OR SUCH PATIENT'S FAMILY OR CAREGIVER.
   §  2.  Subdivision  3  of  section  2803-c of the public health law is
 amended by adding a new paragraph s to read as follows:
   S. A STATEMENT INFORMING THE PATIENT OF HIS OR HER  RIGHT  TO  RECEIVE
 INFORMATION  AND DOCUMENTS INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO INFORMATION AND
 DOCUMENTS RELATED TO SUCH PATIENT'S DISCHARGE, DIAGNOSIS,  TREATMENT  OR
 TEST  RESULTS IN PLAIN ENGLISH OR IN A LANGUAGE OR FORMAT THAT IS UNDER-
 STANDABLE TO THE PATIENT OR SUCH PATIENT'S FAMILY OR CAREGIVER.  WHEREV-
 ER PRACTICABLE, SUCH INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTS SHALL AVOID  THE  USE  OF
 MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY AND INSTEAD USE WORDS WITH COMMON AND EVERYDAY MEAN-
 INGS  TO  FACILITATE UNDERSTANDABILITY.   SUCH INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTS
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD11705-02-1

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