STATE OF NEW JERSEY
217th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2016 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman VALERIE VAINIERI HUTTLE
District 37 (Bergen)
Assemblyman DANIEL R. BENSON
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Assemblyman JAMEL C. HOLLEY
District 20 (Union)
Assemblyman JOE DANIELSEN
District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)
Assemblyman WAYNE P. DEANGELO
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Assemblywoman ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT
District 31 (Hudson)
Assemblywoman SHAVONDA E. SUMTER
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Caputo, Assemblywoman Tucker, Assemblyman Giblin, Assemblywomen Schepisi, Jimenez, B.DeCroce, Rodriguez-Gregg, Muoio, Assemblymen Chiaravalloti and Johnson
SYNOPSIS
Requires hospital patient's medical record to include notation if patient has Alzheimer's disease and related disorders.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning medical records of hospital patients and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. A hospital licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.) shall require a health care professional, at the time of taking a medical history or performing a physical examination of a patient admitted to an emergency room or the hospital pursuant to regulations adopted by the Commissioner of Health, to include a notation in the patient's medical record indicating, if applicable, that the patient has Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. The notation shall be prominently displayed in the medical record.
b. As used in this section:
"Alzheimer's Disease and related disorders" means forms of dementia characterized by a general loss of intellectual abilities of sufficient severity to interfere with social or occupational functioning; and
"Health care professional" means a physician, dentist, podiatrist, physician assistant, or advanced practice nurse, who is acting within the scope of the professional's practice and is licensed or whose professional practice is otherwise regulated pursuant to Title 45 of the Revised Statutes.
2. The Commissioner of Health shall, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt any rules and regulations as the commissioner deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this act.
3. This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month next following the date of enactment, but the Commissioner of Health may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill provides that a hospital is to require a health care professional, at the time of taking a medical history or performing a physical examination of a patient admitted to an emergency room or the hospital, to include a notation in the patient's medical record indicating, if applicable, that the patient has Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. The notation is to be prominently displayed in the record.
It is intended that this bill will enable hospitals to better care for patients with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders, and help prevent these patients from wandering away from hospitals.