Legislative Digest

In recent weeks, the New York State Assembly has taken action on the following health-related pieces of legislation:
  • Interviewing Plaintiff's Physician in a Medical Malpractice Suit: The NYS Assembly referred A.8691-A/S.5256-A to the floor for vote. The proposed bill prohibits a party in a medical malpractice lawsuit from informally interviewing a plaintiff's treating physician or physicians. GNYHA strongly opposes the proposed bill because it will increase medical malpractice costs at a time when the State is looking for ways to decrease costs and it seeks to reverse a recent ruling that upheld the principal that the informal discovery of information can serve litigants and the entire justice system by uncovering relevant facts.
  • Adverse Error Disclosure: The NYS Assembly Health Committee approved A.3790, which requires health care providers to disclose errors in diagnosis, treatment, or other services that the provider knows have substantial harm or significant risk of substantial harm. GNYHA supports the intent of the legislation but opposes this bill because it is duplicative of current law.
  • Confidentiality Protection for Peer Review: The NYS Assembly Health Committee approved A.6723/S.4642 to extend confidentiality protections related to discovery of testimony and/or statements made by any person in attendance at any type of peer review committee meeting or deliberation. GNYHA supports the proposed bill because it would ensure that any health care professional involved in an incident, who is or may be a party to a lawsuit in the future, can participate in a thorough examination and discussion of the incident for improvement purposes without the fear of jeopardizing the confidentiality protections provided for in NYS laws.
  • Nursing Care Quality Protection Act: The NYS Assembly referred A.5196/S.1267 to the floor for vote, which requires public reporting of information about nurse staffing levels. GNYHA opposes this proposed bill because the justification for it is already addressed in current State statute and a direct relationship between staffing patterns and patient outcomes has not been established.
  • Consecutive Work Hours for Nurses: The NYS Assembly Labor Committee approved A.1898-B/S.6342, which would limit the number of consecutive hours and total weekly work hours that a hospital or other health care employer could require a registered professional nurse or licensed practical nurse to remain on duty. GNYHA strongly opposes the proposed bill because it would eliminate the flexibility needed to provide for the safe care of acutely ill patients with changing needs.
 
 

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