Sponsored by:
Senator FRED H. MADDEN, JR.
District 4 (Camden and Gloucester)
Senator SHIRLEY K. TURNER
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Assemblyman PAUL D. MORIARTY
District 4 (Camden and Gloucester)
Assemblywoman GABRIELA M. MOSQUERA
District 4 (Camden and Gloucester)
Assemblywoman VALERIE VAINIERI HUTTLE
District 37 (Bergen)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Calabrese, Assemblywoman Murphy, Assemblyman Zwicker, Assemblywoman Lopez, Assemblyman Freiman and Assemblywoman Swain
SYNOPSIS
Expressly prohibits invasive examination of unconscious patient by health care practitioner without patient’s prior informed written consent.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee on May 6, 2021, with amendments.
An Act concerning the practice of medicine and supplementing Title 45 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Except as provided in subsection b. of this section, no individual licensed or certified to practice health care pursuant to Title 45 of the Revised Statutes shall conduct an invasive examination of any patient while the patient is under general anesthesia or otherwise unconscious without the patient’s informed written consent to the invasive examination. 1[If the patient is a minor, unconscious, unresponsive, or otherwise lacks the capacity to provide informed written consent to an invasive examination at the time informed consent is sought, consent may be provided by any individual authorized to make health care decisions on behalf of the patient, provided that the health care practitioner shall make reasonable efforts to obtain informed consent directly from the patient whenever possible.]1 If a health care practitioner authorized to perform an invasive examination of a patient while the patient is under general anesthesia or otherwise unconscious determines that an additional invasive examination is required that is different in nature from the invasive examination to which the patient 1[or the patient’s authorized representative]1 previously consented, the health care practitioner shall obtain a separate informed written consent prior to performing the additional invasive examination.
b. The requirements of subsection a. of this section shall not apply in the case of emergency in which the patient is unconscious or unresponsive and it reasonably appears that immediate medical treatment is necessary to prevent severe or worsening injury to the patient or to save the patient’s life, in which case a health care practitioner may render any appropriate emergency treatment services as are necessary, including performing any invasive examinations of the patient as shall be necessary to evaluate and determine the appropriate course of emergency treatment for the patient. 1The health care practitioner shall notify the patient as soon as practicable that an invasive examination has been performed.1 Nothing in this subsection shall authorize the provision of emergency treatment in any case in which the practitioner 1[knows or has reason to know the patient has] is provided, prior to emergency treatment, actual verification of an1 executed 1[a]1 do not resuscitate order 1[or has otherwise proscriptively refused emergency treatment]1 . 1Nothing in this subsection shall authorize the provision of emergency treatment that conflicts with a patient’s verified Practitioner Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment documentation.1
c. In no case shall any invasive examination of a patient who is under general anesthesia or otherwise unconscious be undertaken for educational or training purposes unless the patient has provided separate, informed consent, verbally and in writing, to the invasive examination. When requesting separate informed consent to conduct an invasive examination of a patient while the patient is under general anesthesia or otherwise unconscious for educational or training purposes, the health care practitioner requesting informed consent shall advise the patient of the exact nature of the invasive examination, of the estimated number of students and other individuals who will be performing or participating in the invasive examination, and that no medical care or treatment will be denied to the patient if the patient withholds consent to an invasive examination for educational or training purposes. In the event that the invasive examination for educational or training purposes would take place during, or in association with, a medical procedure, the consent required pursuant to this subsection shall be obtained independently of, and in addition to, any informed consent provided by the patient to undergo the medical procedure; provided that nothing in this subsection shall be deemed to prohibit a practitioner from obtaining informed consent to both the medical procedure and the invasive examination for educational or training purposes at the same time, provided that it is clear to the patient that the consents are being requested for distinct and independent purposes.
d. 1A patient providing informed written consent for an invasive examination shall provide the consent to the health care practitioner using a form prescribed by the Commissioner of Health. In addition to any other requirements set forth by the Commissioner of Health, each form shall meet the following requirements:
(1) each form shall have a heading clearly stating the nature of the examination;
(2) each form shall contain a full description of the nature, purpose, and attendant risks associated with the proposed invasive examination;
(3) each form shall indicate if the proposed invasive examination will be used for educational or training purposes; and
(4) each form shall be separate from any other document, consent form, notice, or agreement.
e. A health care practitioner who fails to obtain a patient’s informed written consent prior to conducting an invasive examination of the patient while the patient is under general anesthesia or otherwise unconscious, except in the instances provided in subsection b. of this section, shall be subject to discipline for professional misconduct pursuant to section 8 of P.L.1978, c.73 (C.45:1-21).
f.1 As used in this section:
“Informed consent” means the affirmative authorization provided by a patient 1[or the patient’s authorized representative]1 to a health care practitioner to perform an invasive examination of the patient, which authorization shall not be valid unless the health care practitioner first provides the patient 1[or the patient’s representative]1 with a full description of the nature and attendant risks associated with the proposed invasive examination.
“Invasive examination” means any visual, tactile, or mechanical inspection of the patient’s reproductive organs, rectal cavity, or breasts.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.