Bill Text: NY A08166 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Provides for notice to persons authorized to receive medical information when a patient treated in a chemical dependence program or facility exhibits signs of possible drug use.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-12-06 - enacting clause stricken [A08166 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A08166-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8166

                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      June 4, 2019
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. ORTIZ -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse

        AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to notice to certain
          persons of a patient treated  in  a  chemical  dependence  program  or
          facility

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. This act shall be known and  may  be  cited  as  "Stephen's
     2  law".
     3    § 2. The mental hygiene law is amended by adding a new section 22.09-a
     4  to read as follows:
     5  § 22.09-a Notice to certain persons of patients treated.
     6    (a)  When a patient who is currently being treated or has been treated
     7  in the last seven days in a treatment program certified  by  the  office
     8  demonstrates  behavior or conditions that the program believes may cause
     9  life-threatening harm to  such  patient  such  as  missing  a  scheduled
    10  appointment or testing positive for a controlled substance, and when the
    11  treatment  program  has  on file a release of information permitting the
    12  program to share specific information with specific  parties  pertaining
    13  to the patient's behavior or conditions believed to be life-threatening,
    14  the  treatment  program  shall  notify  parties  to whom the patient has
    15  authorized consent for the  release  of  confidential  information  with
    16  details  consistent with the release of information on file and consist-
    17  ent with federal and state laws.
    18    (b) The treatment program shall only be required to use contact infor-
    19  mation as specified on the form authorizing consent for the  release  of
    20  confidential  information  to  contact  those  who  are in a position to
    21  reduce the harm of a potential relapse. A  party  which  does  not  list
    22  contact  information  on such form waives its right to receive notice of
    23  occurrences under this section.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05434-05-9
        A. 8166                             2

     1    (c) A treatment program shall not be required  to  contact  more  than
     2  three parties for any single occurrence.
     3    §  3.  The  office  of  alcoholism  and substance abuse services shall
     4  update the TRS-2 form (Consent for  Release  of  Information  Concerning
     5  Alcoholism/Drug  Abuse  Patient) to include a space in which a signatory
     6  may add immediate contact information for persons who are authorized  to
     7  receive medical information, including but not limited to a phone number
     8  and/or  an  email  address.  The updated form shall be published no more
     9  than ninety days after the effective date of this act.
    10    § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    11  it shall have become a law.