Public Health Committee
AN ACT CONCERNING NOTICE OF A PATIENT'S OBSERVATION STATUS
SUMMARY: This act generally requires hospitals to provide patients with oral and written notice when the hospital has placed them in observation status, no later than 24 hours after the placement. The requirement does not apply if the patient was discharged or left the hospital before the end of the 24-hour period.
The act specifies certain information that must be included with the notice and requires the patient or patient's authorized representative to sign the written notice. In general, observation status refers to patients who are being treated in a hospital but are classified as outpatients rather than as admitted to the hospital.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2014
HOSPITAL OBSERVATION STATUS NOTICE
Under the act, the required notices concerning a patient's placement in observation status must include a:
1. statement that the patient is not admitted to the hospital but is under observation status;
2. statement that this status may affect coverage under Medicare, Medicaid, or private insurance for (a) hospital services, including medications and pharmaceutical supplies or (b) home or community-based care or care at a skilled nursing facility upon the patient's discharge; and
3. recommendation that the patient contact his or her health insurance provider or the Office of the Healthcare Advocate to better understand the implications of placement in observation status.
The act requires the written notice to be signed and dated by the patient or his or her legal guardian, conservator, or other authorized representative.
OLR Tracking: JO: JM: PF: am