Hospitals: family caregivers.

Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to license and regulate health facilities, defined to mean a facility, place, or building that is organized, maintained, and operated for the diagnosis, care, prevention, and treatment of human illness, as specified. Existing law requires hospitals, among other things, to have a written discharge planning policy and process that requires appropriate arrangements to be made for posthospital care. A violation of those provisions is a crime. This bill would require a hospital to take specified actions relating to family caregivers, including, among others, notifying the family caregiver of the patient's discharge or transfer to another facility and providing information and counseling regarding the posthospital care needs of the patient, if the patient has consented to the disclosure of this information. By expanding the scope 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.