SSHB849 4465 4750
HOUSE SUMMARY OF SENATE AMENDMENTS
HB 849 2024 Regular Session Illg
HEALTH CARE/FACILITIES: Provides relative to healthcare outcomes for patient's
suffering with behavioral health issues
Synopsis of Senate Amendments
1.Transfers the duty to notify required by proposed law from the healthcare
professional with the authority to discharge a patient and the healthcare facility
to the individual who is responsible for discharge planning at the healthcare
facility.
2.Modifies who shall be notified of a patient's discharge from any healthcare
professional designated by the patient to any healthcare professional that is
currently providing behavioral health services to the patient unless the patient
objects to the notification.
3.Modifies who shall be notified of a patient's discharge and provided a summary
of the patient's condition from any healthcare professional that the patient has
scheduled to visit for follow-up behavioral health services to any healthcare
professional that the patient is being referred to by the discharging healthcare
facility for follow-up behavioral health services.
4.Makes mandatory rather than discretionary that a healthcare professional or
healthcare provider that provides behavioral health services to accept and
document information provided by a patient's family members, friends,
caregivers, or healthcare professionals unless the healthcare professional or
healthcare provider believes accepting and documenting the provided
information is not relevant to the patient's care or treatment.
Digest of Bill as Finally Passed by Senate
Proposed law requires a healthcare professional or healthcare provider that provides
behavioral health services to accept and document information provided by a patient's family
members, friends, caregivers, or healthcare professionals unless the healthcare professional
or healthcare provider believes accepting and documenting the provided information is not
relevant to the patient's care or treatment.
Proposed law states that if a patient is admitted for inpatient behavioral healthcare services
as a result of an emergency certificate, the individual responsible for discharge planning at
the inpatient healthcare facility shall make a reasonable effort to do all of the following:
(1)Notify any healthcare professional known to be currently treating the patient for a
behavioral health condition that the patient is to be discharged, unless the patient
objects to the notification.
(2)Notify any healthcare professional that the patient is referred to for follow-up
behavioral health services of the patient's discharge within 24 hours of the discharge.
The referring healthcare professional or healthcare provider shall provide a summary
of the patient's condition and any medically relevant information no later than the
date the patient has been scheduled for follow-up behavioral health services.
(3)Provide the patient educational documents created and published by the La.
Department of Health prior to discharge explaining the signs of self-harm and the
importance of seeking follow-up care.
Page 1 of 2 SSHB849 4465 4750
Proposed law designates proposed law as the "Matthew Samuel Milam Act"."
(Adds R.S. 28:4 and 53.1)
Page 2 of 2