Bill Text: NY A01190 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Relates to requiring a medical facility or related services to obtain express prior written consent before filming and/or broadcasting of visual images of a patient's medical treatment.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 22-6)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-06-11 - amended on third reading 1190b [A01190 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A01190-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         1190--A
                                                                   R. R. 368
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    January 11, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by M. of A. BRAUNSTEIN, SKOUFIS, MOSLEY, JAFFEE, M. G. MILL-
          ER, BRINDISI, ARROYO, HOOPER, GOTTFRIED, ZEBROWSKI,  COOK,  MONTESANO,
          FINCH,  SEAWRIGHT,  FRIEND,  JENNE,  GALEF,  KAVANAGH, HEVESI, WEPRIN,
          CASTORINA -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. HIKIND, McDONOUGH, PALMES-
          ANO, PEOPLES-STOKES, SCHIMMINGER,  SIMON,  TITONE  --  read  once  and
          referred  to  the  Committee on Health -- reported and referred to the
          Committee on Codes -- reported and referred to the Committee on  Rules
          -- amended on the special order of third reading, ordered reprinted as
          amended, retaining its place on the special order of third reading
        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  public  health law and the civil rights law, in
          relation to prohibiting  the  making  and/or  broadcasting  of  visual
          images of individuals undergoing medical treatment without prior writ-
          ten consent
          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  2806-c to read as follows:
     3    §  2806-c.  Restrictions on broadcasting of patients. 1. Every patient
     4  in a health care facility shall have the right to have privacy in treat-
     5  ment and in caring for personal needs, including the broadcasting of the
     6  recognizable image or speech of such patient involved in a  health  care
     7  procedure  in  such  facility,  with  the exception of broadcasting such
     8  image or speech for the purposes of advancing the health care  treatment
     9  of  the individual, a quality assurance program, the education or train-
    10  ing of health care personnel, or necessary security purposes.
    11    2. Such privacy in treatment shall include the obtaining by the health
    12  care facility of express written consent on  a  separate  document  used
    13  solely  for  such purpose from an individual receiving treatment in such
    14  facility prior to broadcasting the recognizable image or speech of  such
    15  patient  involved  in  such  treatment.  In the case of broadcasting the
    16  recognizable image or speech for education or training  of  health  care
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01750-04-7
        A. 1190--A                          2
     1  personnel,  the  patient  shall have the right to know of and shall have
     2  the right to refuse the broadcasting for that purpose. A person  legally
     3  authorized  to  make  health care decisions for the patient or otherwise
     4  authorized to consent may grant such consent or exercise such refusal if
     5  the patient cannot reasonably do so due to such patient's incapacity.
     6    3. For the purposes of this section:
     7    (a) "health care facility" shall mean a residential health care facil-
     8  ity,  general hospital, free-standing ambulatory care facility, diagnos-
     9  tic and/or treatment center and clinic authorized under this article, or
    10  ambulance operated by an ambulance service as defined by subdivision two
    11  of section three thousand one of this chapter or by  a  voluntary  ambu-
    12  lance  service as defined by subdivision three of section three thousand
    13  one of this chapter;
    14    (b) "quality assurance" shall mean any evaluation of services provided
    15  in or by a health care facility for purposes of improvement  in  safety,
    16  quality or outcomes;
    17    (c)  "education  or  training  of  health care personnel" shall mean a
    18  program of education or training of health care  personnel  or  students
    19  being  educated  or trained to be health care personnel, that the health
    20  care facility has authorized;
    21    (d) "broadcasting" of an image or speech shall  mean  transmission  by
    22  broadcast, cable, closed circuit, internet or other television or visual
    23  medium,  social  media,  or  other  system  by which it can be viewed in
    24  violation of the privacy rights and expectations of a patient.  Provided
    25  however, that broadcasting shall not include incidental transmission  of
    26  the  image  or  speech  of  an  individual being treated, transported or
    27  otherwise cared for or attended to by an ambulance service as defined in
    28  subdivision two of section three thousand one of this chapter  or  by  a
    29  voluntary  ambulance  service as defined in subdivision three of section
    30  three thousand one of this chapter,  at  an  ambulance  response  scene,
    31  public  area  or during delivery or admission to a health care facility,
    32  that is captured by news media, bystanders or others who do not have the
    33  written  consent  of  such  ambulance  service  or  voluntary  ambulance
    34  service.
    35    4. Nothing in this section shall diminish or impair any right or reme-
    36  dy otherwise applicable to any patient.
    37    §  2.  Section 50-c of the civil rights law, as amended by chapter 643
    38  of the laws of 1999, is amended to read as follows:
    39    § 50-c. Private right of action.  1. If the identity of the victim  of
    40  an offense defined in subdivision one of section fifty-b of this article
    41  is  disclosed  in  violation of such section, any person injured by such
    42  disclosure may bring an action to recover damages suffered by reason  of
    43  such  wrongful disclosure. In any action brought under this section, the
    44  court may award reasonable [attorney's] attorneys' fees to a  prevailing
    45  plaintiff.
    46    2.  If the privacy of an individual as defined in section twenty-eight
    47  hundred six-c of the public health  law  regarding  the  right  to  have
    48  privacy  in  treatment  and  in caring for personal needs, including the
    49  broadcasting of the recognizable image or speech of a  patient  involved
    50  in  a  health  care procedure in such a facility has been violated, such
    51  individual or his or her estate representative may bring  an  action  to
    52  recover  damages  suffered  by  reason  of such violation. In any action
    53  brought under this section, the court may  award  reasonable  attorneys'
    54  fees to a prevailing plaintiff. The cause of action created herein shall
    55  survive the death of such individual.
    56    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.