26:2H-5.26 Designation of caregiver.

3. a. A hospital shall provide each patient or, if applicable, the patient's legal guardian, with an opportunity to designate at least one caregiver following the patient's entry into a hospital, and prior to the patient's discharge to the patient's residence, in a timeframe that is consistent with the discharge planning process provided by regulation. The hospital shall promptly document the request in the patient's medical record.

b. In the event that the patient is unconscious or otherwise incapacitated upon entry into the hospital, the hospital shall provide the patient or the patient's legal guardian with an opportunity to designate a caregiver within a given timeframe, at the discretion of the attending physician, following the patient's recovery of consciousness or capacity. The hospital shall promptly document the attempt in the patient's medical record.

c. In the event that the patient or legal guardian declines to designate a caregiver pursuant to this act, the hospital shall promptly document this declination in the patient's medical record.

d. In the event that the patient or the patient's legal guardian designates an individual as a caregiver under this act:

(1) The hospital shall promptly request the written consent of the patient or the patient's legal guardian to release medical information to the patient's designated caregiver following the hospital's established procedures for releasing personal health information and in compliance with all State and federal laws, including the federal "Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996," Pub.L.104-191, and related regulations.

(a) If the patient or the patient's legal guardian declines to consent to release medical information to the patient's designated caregiver, the hospital is not required to provide notice to the caregiver under section 4 of P.L.2014, c.68 (C.26:2H-5.27) or provide information contained in the patient's discharge plan under section 5 of P.L.2014, c.68 (C.26:2H-5.28).

(2) The hospital shall record the patient's designation of caregiver, the relationship of the designated caregiver to the patient, and the name, telephone number, and address of the patient's designated caregiver in the patient's medical record.

e. A patient or the patient's legal guardian may elect to change the patient's designated caregiver at any time, and the hospital must record this change in the patient's medical record before the patient's discharge.

f. This section shall not be construed to require a patient or a patient's legal guardian to designate any individual as a caregiver.

g. A designation of a caregiver by a patient or a patient's legal guardian does not obligate the designated individual to perform any after-care assistance for the patient.

h. In the event that the patient is a minor child, and the parents of the patient are divorced, the custodial parent shall have the authority to designate a caregiver. If the parents have joint custody of the patient, they shall jointly designate the caregiver.

L.2014, c.68, s.3.