HB 3503

Abstract

Amends the Medical Patient Rights Act. Provides that, during a period for which the Governor has issued a proclamation under the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act declaring that a disaster exists or in the event of an outbreak or epidemic of a communicable disease in the community in which the emergency department is located, an emergency department shall ensure an opportunity for at least one medical advocate to be present with a patient for the purposes of communication, care, consent, and advocacy on the patient's behalf. Requires the medical advocate's presence to be subject to the guidelines, conditions, and limitations of the emergency department's policies and any rules or guidelines established by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Provides that medical advocates may be required by the emergency department to submit to health screenings necessary to prevent the spread of infectious disease. Allows emergency departments to (i) restrict facility access to a medical advocate who does not pass the emergency department's health screening requirement, (ii) require a medical advocate to adhere to infection control procedures, and (iii) deny a medical advocate's request to be present with a patient under the Act if it would endanger the physical health or safety of the patient, the medical advocate, or health care workers or would otherwise create a risk to public health or safety. Defines "medical advocate".