Montana Code 50-5-702. Lay caregiver — designation
50-5-702. Lay caregiver — designation. (1) (a) As soon as practicable after a patient’s entry and before the patient’s discharge or transfer, a hospital shall provide the patient or, if applicable, the patient’s legal representative with at least one opportunity to designate at least one lay caregiver.
Terms Used In Montana Code 50-5-702
- Aftercare: means assistance provided by a lay caregiver to a patient after the patient's discharge from a hospital and limited to the patient's condition at the time of discharge, including but not limited to assistance with:
(a)basic activities of daily living;
(b)instrumental activities of daily living; and
(c)medical or nursing tasks that do not require a licensed professional. See Montana Code 50-5-701
- Discharge: means a patient's exit or release from a hospital to the patient's residence after an inpatient hospital admission. See Montana Code 50-5-701
- Entry: means an individual's admission into a hospital for the purposes of inpatient care. See Montana Code 50-5-701
- Hospital: means a hospital, critical access hospital, or rural emergency hospital as those terms are defined in 50-5-101. See Montana Code 50-5-701
- Lay caregiver: means an individual designated as a lay caregiver by a patient or the patient's legal representative to provide aftercare to a patient in the patient's residence. See Montana Code 50-5-701
- Legal representative: means :
(a)a legal guardian;
(b)a person who holds a medical power of attorney; or
(c)a representative named in an advance health care directive recognized under Montana law or the law of another state. See Montana Code 50-5-701
- Person: includes a corporation or other entity as well as a natural person. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
(b)If the patient is unconscious or otherwise incapacitated upon entry, the hospital shall provide the patient or the patient’s legal representative with an opportunity to designate a lay caregiver as soon as practicable after the patient regains consciousness or capacity.
(2)If the patient or the patient’s legal representative declines to designate a lay caregiver, the hospital shall appropriately document the decision.
(3)If a lay caregiver is designated pursuant to this section, the hospital shall:
(a)promptly request the written consent of the patient or legal representative to release medical information to the lay caregiver, using the hospital’s established procedures for releasing personal health information and in compliance with all state and federal laws governing release of the information; and
(b)appropriately document the designation of the lay caregiver, the relationship of the lay caregiver to the patient, and the name, telephone number, and address of the lay caregiver.
(4)If the patient or the patient’s legal representative declines to consent to the release of medical information to the lay caregiver, the hospital is not required to provide notice to the lay caregiver as provided in 50-5-703 or to provide information contained in the discharge plan developed pursuant to 50-5-704.
(5)A patient or the patient’s legal representative may change the designated lay caregiver at any time. The hospital shall appropriately document the change as soon as practicable.
(6)A person designated as a lay caregiver pursuant to this section is not obligated to perform any aftercare tasks for a patient.
(7)This section may not be construed to require a patient or a patient’s legal representative to designate a lay caregiver.