Bill Text: NY A03455 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Enacts provisions relating to the use of electroconvulsive therapy; bans the use of such therapy on persons less than 16 years of age and restricts the use of such therapy on persons 65 years of age or older.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to mental health [A03455 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A03455-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3455 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 29, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ORTIZ, JEAN-PIERRE, MOSLEY -- read once and referred to the Committee on Mental Health AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to the use of elec- troconvulsive therapy The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Title E of the mental hygiene law is amended by adding a 2 new article 85 to read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 85 4 ELECTROCONVULSIVE AND OTHER THERAPIES 5 Section 85.01 Application. 6 85.02 Use of electroconvulsive therapy. 7 85.03 Consent to therapy. 8 85.04 Withdrawal of consent. 9 85.05 Physician requirement. 10 85.06 Registration of equipment. 11 85.07 Reports. 12 85.08 Use of information; report. 13 § 85.01 Application. 14 This article shall apply to the use of electroconvulsive therapy by 15 any person, including a private physician who uses the therapy on an 16 outpatient basis. 17 § 85.02 Use of electroconvulsive therapy. 18 (a) Electroconvulsive therapy may not be used on a person who is youn- 19 ger than sixteen years of age. 20 (b) Unless the person consents to the use of the therapy in accordance 21 with section 85.03 of this article, electroconvulsive therapy may not be 22 used on: 23 (1) a person who is sixteen years of age or older and who is voluntar- 24 ily receiving mental health services; or EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD07136-01-9A. 3455 2 1 (2) an involuntary patient who is sixteen years of age or older and 2 who has not been adjudicated by an appropriate court of law as incompe- 3 tent to manage the patient's personal affairs. 4 (c) Electroconvulsive therapy may not be used on an involuntary 5 patient who is sixteen years of age or older and who has been adjudi- 6 cated incompetent to manage the patient's personal affairs unless the 7 patient's guardian of the person consents to the treatment in accordance 8 with section 85.03 of this article. The decision of the guardian must be 9 based on knowledge of what the patient would desire, if known. 10 § 85.03 Consent to therapy. 11 (a) The department by rule shall adopt a standard written consent form 12 to be used when electroconvulsive therapy is considered. The department 13 by rule shall also prescribe the information that must be contained in 14 the written supplement required under subdivision (c) of this section. 15 In addition to the information required under this section, the form 16 must include the information required by the mental hygiene medical 17 review board for electroconvulsive therapy. In developing the form, the 18 department shall consider recommendations of the medical review board. 19 Use of the consent form prescribed by the department in the manner 20 prescribed by this section creates a rebuttable presumption that the 21 disclosure requirements of this chapter have been met. 22 (b) The written consent form must clearly and explicitly state: 23 (1) the nature and purpose of the procedure; 24 (2) the nature, degree, duration, and probability of the side effects 25 and significant risks of the treatment commonly known by the medical 26 profession, especially noting the possible degree and duration of memory 27 loss, the possibility of permanent irrevocable memory loss, and the 28 possibility of death; 29 (3) that there is a division of opinion as to the efficacy of the 30 procedure; and 31 (4) the probable degree and duration of improvement or remission 32 expected with or without the procedure. 33 (c) Before a patient receives each electroconvulsive treatment, the 34 hospital, facility or physician administering the therapy shall ensure 35 that: 36 (1) the patient and the patient's guardian of the person, if any, 37 receives a written copy of the consent form that is in the person's 38 primary language, if possible; 39 (2) the patient and the patient's guardian of the person, if any, 40 receives a written supplement that contains related information that 41 pertains to the particular patient being treated; 42 (3) the contents of the consent form and the written supplement are 43 explained to the patient and the patient's guardian of the person, if 44 any: 45 (A) orally, in simple, nontechnical terms in the person's primary 46 language, if possible; or 47 (B) through the use of a means reasonably calculated to communicate 48 with a hearing impaired or visually impaired person, if applicable; 49 (4) the patient or the patient's guardian of the person, as appropri- 50 ate, signs a copy of the consent form stating that the person has read 51 the consent form and the written supplement and understands the informa- 52 tion included in the documents; and 53 (5) the signed copy of the consent form is made a part of the 54 patient's clinical record.A. 3455 3 1 (d) Consent given under this section is not valid unless the person 2 giving the consent understands the information presented and consents 3 voluntarily and without coercion or undue influence. 4 (e) For a patient sixty-five years of age or older, before each treat- 5 ment series begins, the hospital, facility or physician administering 6 the procedure shall: 7 (1) ensure that two physicians have signed an appropriate form that 8 states the procedure is medically necessary; 9 (2) make the form described by paragraph one of this subdivision 10 available to the patient or the patient's guardian of the person; and 11 (3) inform the patient or the patient's guardian of the person of any 12 known current medical condition that may increase the possibility of 13 injury or death as a result of the treatment. 14 § 85.04 Withdrawal of consent. 15 (a) A patient or guardian who consents to the administration of elec- 16 troconvulsive therapy may revoke the consent for any reason and at any 17 time. 18 (b) Revocation of consent is effective immediately. 19 § 85.05 Physician requirement. 20 (a) Only a physician may administer electroconvulsive therapy. 21 (b) A physician may not delegate the act of administering the therapy. 22 A nonphysician who administers electroconvulsive therapy is considered 23 to be practicing medicine in violation of the laws of this state. 24 § 85.06 Registration of equipment. 25 (a) A person may not administer electroconvulsive therapy unless the 26 equipment used to administer the therapy is registered with the depart- 27 ment. 28 (b) A mental hospital or facility administering electroconvulsive 29 therapy or a private physician administering the therapy on an outpa- 30 tient basis must file an application for registration under this 31 section. The applicant must submit the application to the department on 32 a form prescribed by the department. 33 (c) The application must be accompanied by a nonrefundable application 34 fee. The department shall set the fee in a reasonable amount not to 35 exceed the cost to the department to administer this section. 36 (d) The application must contain: 37 (1) the model, manufacturer, and age of each piece of equipment used 38 to administer the therapy; and 39 (2) any other information required by the department. 40 (e) The department may conduct an investigation as considered neces- 41 sary after receiving the proper application and the required fee. 42 (f) The department by rule may prohibit the registration and use of 43 equipment of a type, model or age the department determines is danger- 44 ous. 45 (g) The department may deny, suspend or revoke a registration if the 46 department determines that the equipment is dangerous. The denial, 47 suspension or revocation of a registration is considered a contested 48 case. 49 § 85.07 Reports. 50 (a) A mental hospital or facility administering electroconvulsive 51 therapy, psychosurgery, pre-frontal sonic sound treatment, or any other 52 convulsive or coma-producing therapy administered to treat mental 53 illness or a physician administering the therapy on an outpatient basis 54 shall submit to the department quarterly reports relating to the admin- 55 istration of the therapy in the hospital or facility or by the physi- 56 cian.A. 3455 4 1 (b) A report must state for each quarter: 2 (1) the number of patients who received the therapy, including: 3 (A) the number of persons voluntarily receiving mental health services 4 who consented to the therapy; 5 (B) the number of involuntary patients who consented to the therapy; 6 (C) the number of involuntary patients for whom a guardian consented 7 to the therapy; 8 (2) the age, sex and race of the persons receiving the therapy; 9 (3) the source of the treatment payment; 10 (4) the average number of nonelectroconvulsive treatments; 11 (5) the average number of nonelectroconvulsive treatments administered 12 for each complete series of treatments, but not including maintenance 13 treatments; 14 (6) the average number of maintenance electroconvulsive treatments 15 administered per month; 16 (7) the number of fractures, reported memory losses, incidents of 17 apnea, and cardiac arrests without death; 18 (8) autopsy findings if death followed within fourteen days after the 19 date of the administration of the therapy; and 20 (9) any other information required by the department. 21 § 85.08 Use of information; report. 22 (a) The department shall use the information received under sections 23 85.06 and 85.07 of this article to analyze, audit and monitor the use of 24 electroconvulsive therapy, psychosurgery, pre-frontal sonic sound treat- 25 ment, or any other convulsive or coma-producing therapy administered to 26 treat mental illness. 27 (b) The department shall file annually with the governor, the tempo- 28 rary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly a written 29 report summarizing by facility the information received pursuant to 30 sections 85.06 and 85.07 of this article. If the therapy is administered 31 by a private physician on an outpatient basis, the report must include 32 that information but may not identify directly or indirectly in a report 33 issued pursuant to this section a patient who received the therapy. 34 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after 35 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately the addition, amend- 36 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen- 37 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and 38 completed on or before such date.
