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A07379 Summary:

BILL NOA07379
 
SAME ASSAME AS S02136
 
SPONSORLupardo
 
COSPNSRCook, Ortiz, D'Urso, Dickens, Sepulveda, Jones, Jaffee, Schimminger, Walker, Englebright, Simon, Seawright, Abbate, Gottfried, Braunstein, Jenne, Galef, Blake, Hooper, Crespo, McDonough, Murray, Crouch, Wright, Miller ML
 
MLTSPNSRDe La Rosa, Thiele, Walsh
 
Add Art 19 §§1900 - 1901, Pub Health L
 
Directs the commissioner of health to develop screening tools and procedures to be used by health care providers to detect elder abuse or maltreatment in their patients.
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A07379 Actions:

BILL NOA07379
 
04/25/2017referred to health
01/03/2018referred to health
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A07379 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A7379
 
SPONSOR: Lupardo
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the public health law, in relation to screening for elder abuse and maltreatment   PURPOSE: This legislation will require the Commissioner of Health to develop a screening tool to identify abuse in elderly individuals that may be used by health care providers.   SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section 1: Amends the Public Health Law to add a new Article 19. Arti- cle 19 will require the Commissioner of Health to develop a screening tool to identify various forms of abuse or maltreatment in elderly patients that may be used by health care providers during courses of treatment, including but not limited to, annual physical exams or patient screenings under the uniform assessment system for long term care. Section 2: Establishes the effective date.   JUSTIFICATION: Elder abuse has emerged nationally as one of the most underreported crimes. It has been noted that elderly victims who are experiencing abuse from loved ones, friends, or neighbors will often refuse help out of fear, embarrassment, or the desire to protect their abuser. Often this will lead to the continuation of cases that compromise the finan- cial, physical, and mental health of victims. It cannot be overstated that these cases have very real impacts and can lead to tragic conse- quences. In fact, it has been noted that elders who experience abuse, even moderate in severity, have a 300% percent higher risk of death when compared to those who have not been abused. In fact, there are high correlations between elder abuse and maltreatment with hospitalization rates, readmissions, and as aforementioned, the mortality of victims. Because health care practitioners are in the unique position of seeing patients at regular intervals, as well as developing long-term relation- ships of trust, they have significant opportunities to help identify elder abuse and maltreatment. Given the trust and rapport developed through the relationship between provider and patient, national healthcare agencies, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have begun implementing measures that will increase identification and reporting of suspected abuse across settings and provider types. In 2004, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force found that there were no reliable screening tools available to identify abuse of elderly or vulnerable adults in the primary care setting. As a result, CMS began to review its physician quality reporting system measure, and introduced an Elder Maltreatment Screen and Follow-up Plan. As national entities continue to refine intervention techniques and tools for providers to recognize abuse and maltreatment in the elderly community, the state must begin to explore these issues and provide proper guidance to our healthcare community as well. This legislation will require the Commissioner of Health to develop a voluntary screening tool for elder abuse and maltreatment for physicians, physician assist- ants, and nurse practitioners, in order to encourage screenings across settings at important intervals, including annual physicals and as part of the uniform assessment system for long term care. To that end, the tool will provide practitioners with guidance that articulates, among other things, common definitions of abuse, questions that may be used for those who have cognitive impairments, and most of all, a list of resources that may be provided to those patients identified as being victims of abuse. Health care providers play an integral role in our communities, partic- ularly with respect to their ability to identify important changes in the life conditions of their patients and their quality of life. As the aging population continues to grow, we must support this vital relation   LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 2016: S.6925 Passed Senate   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately.
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A07379 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          7379
 
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                     April 25, 2017
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by M. of A. LUPARDO -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Health
 
        AN ACT to amend the public health law,  in  relation  to  screening  for
          elder abuse and maltreatment
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding a new article 19
     2  to read as follows:
     3                                 ARTICLE 19
     4                   ELDER ABUSE AND MALTREATMENT SCREENING
     5  Section 1900. Legislative purpose.
     6          1901. Elder abuse and maltreatment screening.
     7    § 1900. Legislative purpose. The correlation between elder  abuse  and
     8  maltreatment  with  increased hospitalizations, admissions and mortality
     9  highlights the need for increased medical interventions, particularly as
    10  New York continues to implement national healthcare reform  initiatives.
    11  A  screening  tool, to be utilized by medical professionals at important
    12  junctures in the lives of those sixty years of age and older, presents a
    13  significant opportunity for trusted medical providers to  help  identify
    14  high risk patients and help to ensure their continued health and safety.
    15    §  1901.  Elder  abuse and maltreatment screening. 1. The commissioner
    16  shall establish a screening tool to identify abuse in  elderly  individ-
    17  uals.  Physicians,  physician assistants and nurse practitioners may use
    18  the tool to assist in identifying abuse or maltreatment in their elderly
    19  patients during the course of treatment including, but not  limited  to,
    20  annual  physical exams or as part of patient screening under the uniform
    21  assessment system for long term care as established by the department.
    22    2. The screening tool shall include, but not be limited to:
    23    a. a uniform intervention questionnaire with a common scale  that  can
    24  be used across health care environments and populations to assist in the
    25  identification of high risk patients;
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04888-01-7

        A. 7379                             2
 
     1    b.  questions  that can be used for both cognitively intact as well as
     2  cognitively impaired individuals;
     3    c. standardized intervention protocols including specific language and
     4  uniform  definitions  of  physical, sexual, emotional, and psychological
     5  abuse, in addition  to,  neglect,  abandonment,  financial  or  material
     6  exploitation, self-neglect and unwarranted control;
     7    d.  a list of resources to address the needs of patients identified as
     8  being victims of abuse; and
     9    e. documentation in a reportable format that may be used by the  prac-
    10  titioner  to  report suspected elder abuse and maltreatment cases to the
    11  department for the purposes of tracking prevalence.
    12    3. The screening tool shall be culturally and linguistically appropri-
    13  ate in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the  commis-
    14  sioner.
    15    4.  Patients  shall not be required to be subject to screening if they
    16  refuse to participate or are in an urgent or emergent situation.
    17    5. This section shall not affect the scope of practice of  any  health
    18  care  practitioner  or  diminish  any authority or legal or professional
    19  obligations of any health care practitioner.
    20    6. The commissioner shall promulgate any rules and regulations  neces-
    21  sary to implement the provisions of this section.
    22    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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