SF 107 requires hospitals to provide a patient or patient’s agent with an opportunity to designate a caregiver to provide aftercare assistance to the patient upon discharge from the hospital to the patient’s residence.  If a patient or a patient’s agent designated a caregiver, the hospital is required to notify the caregiver upon the patient’s discharge or transfer and is required to provide the caregiver with the patient’s discharge plan and instructions for providing aftercare assistance at the patient’s residence.

Subdivision 1 defines the following terms:  aftercare, agent, designated caregiver, discharge, entry, hospital, and residence.

Subdivision 2, paragraph (a), requires the hospital to provide a patient or a patient’s agent with an opportunity to designate a caregiver no later than 24 hours upon the patient’s entry into a hospital and before the patient is discharged from the hospital or transferred to another health care facility.  Also specifies that if the patient is unconscious or otherwise incapacitated upon entry the hospital is required to provide the patient or the patient’s agent with the opportunity to designate a caregiver within 24 hours of the patient regaining consciousness or capacity.

Paragraph (b) requires the hospital to record the designation in the patient’s medical record and to record in the patient’s medical record if the patient declines to designate a caregiver.

Paragraph (c) specifies that if a patient designates a caregiver, the patient is deemed to have provided the hospital with written consent to provide the patient’s medical information to the designated caregiver. The patient or the patient’s agent may revoke this consent at any time, and if the consent is revoked, the hospital is not required to provide notice of discharge or to provide a discharge plan and aftercare instructions to the designated caregiver.

Paragraph (d) permits a patient to change their designated caregiver at any time and requires the hospital to record the change in the patient’s medical record.

Paragraph (e) specifies that a caregiver designation does not obligate the person to perform any aftercare tasks for the patient.

Subdivision 3, paragraph (a), requires a hospital to notify a designated caregiver as soon as practicable of the patient’s discharge or transfer to another health care facility.

Paragraph (b) specifies that failure to contact a designated caregiver, or failure of the designated care giver to be present to receive discharge plan and aftercare instructions, shall not interfere with or delay discharge or transfer of the patient if the hospital has made a good faith effort to contact the designated caregiver within a reasonable time.  The hospital is required to document its efforts to contact the designated caregiver in the patient’s medical record.

Paragraph (c) specifies that this subdivision does not apply if the patient is transferred to another facility due to an emergency situation.

Subdivision 4, paragraph (a), requires the hospital, prior to discharge from the hospital to the patient’s residence, to consult with the patient and the designated caregiver regarding the discharge plan that describes the patient’s aftercare needs and instructions as to how to provide the care.

Paragraph (b) describes what must be included in the discharge plan.

Paragraph (c) describes the instructions for aftercare tasks that must be included in the discharge plan, including a demonstration or instructional video of the aftercare tasks to be performed and an opportunity to ask questions about the aftercare instructions.

Paragraph (d) requires the hospital to document the discharge plan and a description of the aftercare instructions provided in the patient’s medical record.

Subdivision 5, paragraph (a), specifies that this section shall not be construed to create a private cause of action against the hospital, hospital employee, or an individual that the hospital has a contractual relationship with, or to supersede or replace existing rights or remedies under other provisions of state or federal law.  Also, it specifies that failure to comply with this section is not admissible evidence in any proceeding against a hospital, health care facility, or health care provider.

Paragraph (b) specifies that a patient or patient’s agent is not required to designate a caregiver

Paragraph (c) specifies that this section does not interfere with the powers of a health care agent operating under a valid health care directive in accordance with chapter 145C.

A January 1, 2016 effective date is included.