Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1226.2 – A.(1) A hospital shall provide each patient or, if applicable, the patient’s legal guardian with at least one opportunity to designate a caregiver following the patient’s inpatient a
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1226.2
- Aftercare: means any assistance provided by a caregiver to a patient pursuant to this Part after the patient's discharge from a hospital. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1226.1
- Caregiver: means an individual who meets all of the following conditions:
(a) Is eighteen years of age or older. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1226.1
- Discharge: means a patient's release from hospital care to the patient's residence following an inpatient admission. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1226.1
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Hospital: means a facility licensed under the provisions of Part II of Chapter 11 of this Title. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1226.1
- Patient: means an individual who has been admitted to a hospital for inpatient care and who is eighteen years of age or older. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1226.1
A.(1) A hospital shall provide each patient or, if applicable, the patient’s legal guardian with at least one opportunity to designate a caregiver following the patient’s inpatient admission into a hospital and prior to the patient’s discharge.
(2) In the event that the patient is unconscious or otherwise incapacitated upon his entry into a hospital, the hospital shall provide such patient or his legal guardian with an opportunity to designate a caregiver following the patient’s recovery of his consciousness or capacity.
(3) In the event that the patient or the patient’s legal guardian designates an individual as a caregiver, the hospital shall record the patient’s designation of caregiver and the name, telephone number, and address of the patient’s designated caregiver in the patient’s medical record.
(4) In the event the original designated caregiver becomes unavailable, unwilling, or unable to care for the patient prior to discharge, a patient may elect to change his designated caregiver, and the hospital shall record this change in the patient’s medical record.
B. The hospital shall be deemed to have complied in full with the provisions of this Part in the event that the patient or, if applicable, the legal guardian of the patient declines to designate a caregiver under this Part.
C. A designation of a caregiver by a patient or a patient’s legal guardian under this Part does not obligate any individual to perform any aftercare tasks for any patient.
D. This Section shall not be construed to require a patient or a patient’s legal guardian to designate any individual as a caregiver.
Acts 2016, No. 351, §1.