O F F I C E O F L E G I S L A T I V E R E S E A R C H
P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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PA 21-160—HB 6457
Aging Committee
AN ACT CONCERNING AC CESS TO RECORDINGS A ND IMAGES
FROM TECHNOLOGY USED BY NURSING HOME RESI DENTS FOR
VIRTUAL VISITATION AND VIRTUAL MONITORING
SUMMARY: This act requires a nursing home to give its employee, or the
employee of a contractor providing services at the home, access to a resident’s
virtual monitoring or virtual visitation technology under the following conditions:
1. the employee is the subject of a proposed disciplinary action by the
nursing home based on evidence obtained from the technology;
2. the nursing home grants the access for the employee to defend him- or
herself against the disciplinary action;
3. the employee and nursing home treat any recordings or images obtained
from the resident’s technology as confidential and do not further
disseminate them except as required by law; and
4. any copy of a recording or image used in the proposed disciplinary action
is returned to the resident who provided it when the employee no longer
needs it to defend against the action.
The act also allows the long-term care ombudsman, without consulting the
nursing home, to ask a resident about the existence of recordings or images taken
from virtual monitoring or virtual visitation technology that could corroborate an
abuse or neglect allegation.
Additionally, the act allows a resident, or resident representative, to
voluntarily release recordings or images taken from virtual monitoring or virtual
visitation technology if doing so does not infringe on another person’s privacy
rights under state or federal law. It prohibits a nursing home, or its agent or
employee, from soliciting or requesting such recordings or images from a resident
or resident representative except to investigate an abuse or neglect allegation
based upon them.
If the Department of Public Health initiates a complaint investigation based on
a recording or image, the act allows the department to provide a copy of it to the
nursing home that is the subject of the investigation.
Under the act, “technology” means a device capable of remote audio or video
communications that may include recording capabilities. A “resident
representative” is a person who is the resident’s (1) legally appointed health care
representative, guardian, or conservator; (2) designee, as indicated in a signed
written document in the resident’s facility records; or (3) legally liable relative or
other responsible party who is not a facility employee or contractor.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2021