Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 3004J – Training of a lay caregiver
(a) As soon as practical, a hospital shall attempt to interface with the lay caregiver to prepare the lay caregiver to provide aftercare.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 3004J
- Aftercare: means assistance provided by a lay caregiver to a patient in a residence after the patient's discharge from a hospital that does not require the lay caregiver to be a health-care provider. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 3001J
- Discharge: means a patient's exit or release from a hospital following an inpatient stay. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 3001J
- Hospital: means as defined in § 1001 of this title. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 3001J
- Interface: means training the lay caregiver in aftercare tasks contained in the discharge plan in a manner that is consistent with current accepted practices and provided through 1 of the following methods agreed to by the lay caregiver and the hospital: telehealth, as defined in § 3370 of Title 18, telemedicine, as defined in § 3370 of Title 18, or in-person. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 3001J
- Lay caregiver: includes direct support professionals and shared living providers who are paid staff in a neighborhood group home or shared or community living arrangement, as approved by the Division of Developmental Disabilities Services, and attendant caregivers, as provided for in § 1921(a)(14) and (15) of Title 24. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 3001J
(b) The hospital shall record in the patient’s electronic health record maintained by the hospital or in the patient’s electronic health record contained in the Delaware Health Information Network that it attempted to or did interface with the lay caregiver.
(c) If the hospital interfaces with the lay caregiver, the hospital shall provide an opportunity for the lay caregiver to ask questions and receive answers about the aftercare described to the lay caregiver.
(d) A hospital shall, with the consent of the patient or the patient’s agent, provide the lay caregiver with a discharge plan for the patient that describes the patient’s aftercare needs.
(e) (1) A discharge plan may include all of the following:
a. Competent training on how to provide aftercare.
b. Medication management guidelines.
c. Aftercare guidelines.
d. Identification of the aftercare tasks that a discharging health care provider specifies.
(2) A discharge plan must do all of the following:
a. Reflect the active engagement of a patient, a patient’s agent, or lay caregiver in the discharge planning process and incorporate the goals and preferences of a patient or a patient’s agent as much as possible.
b. Educate the lay caregiver in a manner that is consistent with current accepted practices and based on an assessment of the lay caregiver’s learning needs.
(f) Training of a lay caregiver may not interfere with, delay, or otherwise affect an appropriate discharge or transfer of the patient.
(g) No hospital, hospital employee, an individual with whom a hospital has a contractual relationship, or an authorized agent of the hospital shall be liable for the death of a patient or injury to a patient caused by an act or an omission of a lay caregiver, unless the patient’s death or injury was also caused in part or solely by the medical negligence of the hospital, hospital employee, the individual with whom a hospital has a contractual relationship, or the authorized agent of the hospital.
(h) When training the lay caregiver under this chapter or any regulation promulgated pursuant to § 3006J of this title, a hospital, hospital employee, an individual with whom a hospital has a contractual relationship, or an authorized agent of the hospital, shall provide the lay caregiver instructions and training that a person of ordinary intelligence and awareness in a position similar to that of the lay caregiver could reasonably be expected to appreciate and comprehend. In any action for health-care negligence or a violation of a regulation promulgated pursuant to § 3006J of this title, based upon a claim of a failure to adequately train or instruct a lay caregiver, in addition to other defenses provided by law, it shall be a defense that the lay caregiver was given instructions and training in accordance with this chapter or a regulation promulgated pursuant to § 3006J of this title.