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Senate Bill S4566

2025-2026 Legislative Session

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

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Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

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2025-S4566 (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:
2021-2022: S7094
2023-2024: S2321

2025-S4566 (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.

2025-S4566 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S4566 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf 

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4566
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 7, 2025
                                ___________
 
 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 THEIR 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  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 THEIR RIGHT TO RECEIVE  INFOR-
 MATION 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
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD08671-01-5
 S. 4566                             2

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