§ 23-17.27-2. Caregiver designation.
(a) Any hospital licensed pursuant to this title shall provide each patient or, if applicable,
the patient's legal guardian with an opportunity to designate at least one caregiver
under this chapter following the patient's entry into a hospital.
(1) In the event that the patient is unconscious or otherwise incapacitated upon his or
her entry into a hospital, the hospital shall provide such patient, or his/her legal
guardian, with an opportunity to designate a caregiver within a given timeframe, at
the discretion of the attending physician or other healthcare professional, following
the patient's recovery of consciousness of capacity. The hospital shall inform the
patient that the purpose of providing a caregiver's identity is to include that caregiver
and discharge planning and sharing of post-discharge care information or instruction.
(2) In the event that the patient, or the patient's legal guardian, declines to designate
a caregiver under this chapter, the hospital shall promptly document this in the patient's
medical record.
(3) In the event that the patient or the patient's legal guardian designates an individual
as a caregiver under this chapter:
(i) The hospital shall record the patient's designation of the caregiver, the relationship
of the designated caregiver to the patient, and the name, telephone number, and the
address of the patient's designated caregiver in the patient's medical record.
(ii) 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 federal and state laws.
(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 § 23-17.27-4 or provide information contained in the patient's discharge plan under § 23-17.27-5.
(4) 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.
(b) A designation of a caregiver by a patient or patient's legal guardian under this section
does not obligate any individual to perform any after-care tasks for any patient.
(c) This section shall not be construed to require a patient, or a patient's legal guardian,
to designate any individual as a caregiver as defined by this chapter.
(d) 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.