Florida Senate - 2022                                    SB 1392
       
       
        
       By Senator Garcia
       
       
       
       
       
       37-01668-22                                           20221392__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to patient identification and health
    3         care decisions; creating s. 395.1013, F.S.;
    4         authorizing the Department of Law Enforcement and
    5         other law enforcement agencies to assist hospitals in
    6         identifying otherwise unidentifiable patients;
    7         requiring such agencies to provide the hospital with
    8         specified information, upon a hospital’s request;
    9         amending s. 765.401, F.S.; authorizing certain
   10         clinical social workers to make specified health care
   11         decisions and applications for public and private
   12         benefits for the continued care of certain patients;
   13         providing an effective date.
   14          
   15  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   16  
   17         Section 1. Section 395.1013, Florida Statutes, is created
   18  to read:
   19         395.1013 Patient identification; law enforcement
   20  assistance.—Notwithstanding any other law, the Department of Law
   21  Enforcement or any other law enforcement agency may assist a
   22  hospital licensed under this chapter in identifying an otherwise
   23  unidentifiable patient through the use of fingerprints, palm
   24  prints, facial images, or other biometric information. Upon
   25  request by the hospital, the Department of Law Enforcement or
   26  other law enforcement agency shall provide the hospital with the
   27  available last known name, address, telephone number, or other
   28  identifying information of such patient to notify the patient’s
   29  next of kin.
   30         Section 2. Paragraph (h) of subsection (1) of section
   31  765.401, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   32         765.401 The proxy.—
   33         (1) If an incapacitated or developmentally disabled patient
   34  has not executed an advance directive, or designated a surrogate
   35  to execute an advance directive, or the designated or alternate
   36  surrogate is no longer available to make health care decisions,
   37  health care decisions may be made for the patient by any of the
   38  following individuals, in the following order of priority, if no
   39  individual in a prior class is reasonably available, willing, or
   40  competent to act:
   41         (h) A clinical social worker licensed pursuant to chapter
   42  491, or who is a graduate of a court-approved guardianship
   43  program. Such a proxy must be selected by the provider’s
   44  bioethics committee and must not be employed by the provider. If
   45  the provider does not have a bioethics committee, then such a
   46  proxy may be chosen through an arrangement with the bioethics
   47  committee of another provider. The proxy will be notified that,
   48  upon request, the provider shall make available a second
   49  physician, not involved in the patient’s care to assist the
   50  proxy in evaluating treatment.
   51         1. A clinical social worker authorized to make health care
   52  decisions for a patient under this paragraph may:
   53         a. Consent to and authorize the placement, care, and
   54  treatment of the patient at a skilled nursing facility, assisted
   55  living facility, long-term care facility, or hospice following
   56  the patient’s discharge from the hospital or the patient’s
   57  transfer from one facility to another.
   58         b. Apply for any public or private benefits for the patient
   59  following the patient’s discharge from the hospital or the
   60  patient’s transfer from one facility to another.
   61         2. Decisions to withhold or withdraw life-prolonging
   62  procedures will be reviewed by the facility’s bioethics
   63  committee.
   64         3. Documentation of efforts to locate proxies from prior
   65  classes must be recorded in the patient record.
   66         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.