Nursing facility residents: informed consent.

Existing law provides that patients of skilled nursing facilities and intermediate care facilities have prescribed rights. This bill would add to these rights the right of every resident to receive all information that is material to an individual's decision concerning whether to accept or refuse any proposed treatment or procedure. This bill would make the physician responsible for disclosing the material information to the resident and obtaining his or her informed consent. This bill would require that informed consent, as defined, be obtained in accordance with the above requirements of the bill, with respect to a resident's decision to accept or reject the administration of a psychotherapeutic drug. This bill would also require the State Department of Public Health to inspect for compliance with this requirement during prescribed inspections. Under existing law, the Long-Term Care, Health, Safety, and Security Act of 1973, an attending physician and surgeon who seeks to prescribe, order, or increase an order for an antipsychotic medication for a resident of a skilled nursing facility is required to obtain the informed consent of that resident. A violation of this provision is a misdemeanor. This bill would extend these requirements to a physician and surgeon of a resident in an intermediate care facility. This bill would apply the definition of "informed consent" contained in the bill to this provision. Because this bill would change the definition of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.