Forensic examinations: domestic violence.

Existing law requires the Office of Emergency Services to establish medical forensic forms, instructions, and examination protocols for victims of domestic violence and elder and dependent adult abuse and neglect based on the guidelines for those forms as they relate to sexual assault. Existing law requires the forms to have a place for notation of specified information, including a patient history of domestic violence or elder or dependent adult abuse and neglect. This bill would require that victims of domestic violence have access to medical evidentiary examinations, free of charge, by Local Sexual Assault Response Teams (SART) , Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner (SAFE) teams, or other qualified medical evidentiary examiners. This bill would make specified changes to the forms, including requiring the forms to include information regarding history and evidence of strangulation. Under existing law, the forms for domestic violence forensic examination are part of the patient's medical record, subject to the confidentiality of patient medical records. This bill, instead, would require a hospital, clinic, or other emergency medical facility where medical evidentiary examinations are conducted to develop and implement written policies and procedures for maintaining the confidentiality of medical evidentiary examination reports. The bill would also require a hospital, clinic, or other emergency medical facility, on or before July 1, 2023, to implement a system to facilitate the release of those reports, as specified. This bill would require each county's board of supervisors to authorize a designee to approve the SART, SAFE teams, or other qualified medical evidentiary examiners to receive reimbursement through the Office of Emergency Services for the performance of medical evidentiary examinations for victims of domestic violence and to notify the office of this designation. The bill would prohibit the costs incurred for the medical evidentiary portion of the examination from being charged directly or indirectly to the victim. The bill would also permit victims to have a qualified social worker, victim advocate, or a support person of the victim's choosing be present during the examination, when available. The bill would require that the costs associated with these medical evidentiary exams be funded by the state, subject to appropriation by the Legislature, and would require the Office of Emergency Services to establish a 60-day reimbursement process within one year upon initial appropriation.