N.M. Admin. Code § 8.370.12.19

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 23, December 10, 2024

Section 8.370.12.19 - POLICIES

Every hospital shall have written policies approved by the governing board and shall include provisions for implementation, and for access by the patient, on:

A. Patient rights and responsibilities: a list of these patient rights and responsibilities shall be available in languages appropriate to the ethnic needs of the community;

(1) The policies on patient rights and responsibilities shall provide that:

(a) patients may not be denied appropriate hospital care because of the patient's race creed, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, age, disability or source of payment;

(b) patients shall be treated with consideration, respect, and recognition of their individuality, including the need for privacy in treatment;

(c) the individual patient's medical records, including all computerized medical information, shall be kept confidential in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws;

(d) the patient or any person authorized by statute or in writing by the patient shall have access to the patient's medical record but access to patient's psychiatric records may be limited by treating professionals when specific hospital policies specify requirements for limiting access;

(e) every patient shall be entitled to know who has overall responsibility for the patient's care;

(f) every patient, legally authorized person or any person authorized in writing by the patient, shall receive, from the appropriate person within the facility, information about his illness, course of treatment and prognosis for recovery in terms the patient can understand;

(g) every patient, or his designate representative, where appropriate, shall have the opportunity to participate to the fullest extent possible in planning for his care and treatment;

(h) every patient, or his designated representative, shall be given, at the time of admission, a copy of the patient's rights and responsibilities;

(i) except in emergencies, the consent of the patient, or their legally authorized representative, shall be obtained before treatment is administered;

(j) any patient may refuse treatment to the extent permitted by law and shall be informed of the medical consequences of the refusal;

(k) the patient, the patient's legally authorized representative, or person granted the power to authorize medical treatment, shall be fully informed and give consent for the patient's participation in any form of research or experimentation;

(l) except in emergencies, the patient may be transferred to another facility only with a full explanation of the reason for the transfer, provision for continuing care; and acceptance by the receiving institution;

(m) every patient may examine and receive an explanation of the patient's hospital bill regardless of source of payment, and may receive upon request, information relating to financial assistance available through the hospital;

(n) every patient shall be informed of his responsibility to comply with hospital rules, cooperate in the patient's own treatment, provide a complete and accurate medical history, be respectful of other patients, staff and property, and provide required information concerning payment of charges;

(o) every patient shall be informed in writing about the hospital's policies and procedures for initiation, review and resolution of patient complaints, including the address where complaints may be filed with the authority;

(p) every patient shall be allowed to designate who may be permitted to visit during the hospital stay in accordance with the hospital policy; and

(q) every patient shall have freedom from physical or verbal abuse, harassment and inappropriate physical and chemical restraints;

(r) hospitals must be in compliance with CMS's patient rights condition of participation.

(2) The policies on patient rights and responsibilities shall also provide that patients who receive treatment for mental illness, or developmental disability, in addition to the rights listed herein, have the rights provided in section 43-1-6 NMSA 1978.

(3) Hospital staff assigned to provide direct patient care shall be informed of, and demonstrate their understanding of, the policies on patient rights and responsibilities through orientation and appropriate in-service training activities.

B.Movement of visitors: The hospital shall develop policies regarding the movement of visitors, which provide for infection control and patient privacy, but also allow the patient appropriate freedom as to the time, nature, and location of visit.

C.Use of Volunteers:

(1) the scope of volunteer activities shall be delineated in hospital policies and procedures and shall cover periods of routine operation and periods of disaster and emergency operation;

(2) volunteers may assist with patient care only under direct supervision of appropriate hospital personnel and after appropriate, documented inservice training; volunteers may not perform procedures permitted only by a licensed health care provider;

(3) no volunteer under 16 years of age may assist with or render direct patient care.

D.Identification: The hospital shall develop a method to identify employees, patients, personnel records and patient files.

E.Cancer reporting: every hospital shall report to the tumor registry all malignant neoplasms that are diagnosed by the hospital and all malignant neoplasm's diagnosed elsewhere if the individual is subsequently admitted to the hospital; the report of each malignant neoplasm shall be made on a form prescribed or approved by the authority and shall be submitted to the UNM tumor registry within six months after the diagnosis is made or within six months after the individual's first admission to the hospital if the neoplasm is diagnosed elsewhere, as appropriate; in this paragraph, "malignant neoplasm" means an in situ or invasive tumor of the human body, but does not include a squamous cell carcinoma or basal cell carcinoma arising in the skin.

F.Post - mortem examinations:

(1) the hospital shall have policies for notifying all personnel of special handling needs during post-mortem procedures;

(2) the hospital shall have policies for the release of a deceased human body to a funeral director or other authorized person.

G.Tagging of bodies: all deceased human bodies to be removed from a hospital shall be tagged by staff of the hospital; a red tag shall be used to indicate the possibility of the presence of the communicable or infectious disease or radioactive materials. If the body is in a container, a tag shall also be applied to the outside of the container.

H. Autopsy: Reports are to be distributed to the primary provider and become part of the patient's clinical record.

I.Withholding of resuscitative services from patients.

(1) A policy shall be developed in consultation with the medical staff, nursing staff, and other appropriate bodies and shall be adopted by medical staff and approved by the governing body. The policy shall describe:

(a) a mechanism(s) for reaching decisions about the withholding of resuscitative services from individual patients;

(b) the mechanism(s) for resolving conflicts in decision making, should they arise;

(c) the roles of physicians and, when applicable, of nursing personnel, other appropriate staff, and family members in the decision to withhold resuscitative services;

(d) provisions designed to assure that patients' rights are respected when decisions are made to withhold resuscitative services;

(e) a requirement that patients, or their legal representative(s), and family members must be afforded the opportunity to make their wishes known about decisions affecting the patient's end of life care;

(f) a requirement that appropriate orders be written by the physician or other licensed independent practitioners primarily responsible for the patient and that documentation be made in the patient's medical record.

(2) A decision to withhold resuscitative services does not absolve the hospital from providing basic patient care.

J.Anatomical gifts: A policy shall be adopted and implemented for organ and tissue donation in accordance with 370.12.42 NMAC; the policy shall include procedures to assist the medical, surgical and nursing staff in identifying, evaluating and reporting potential organ and tissue donors.

K.Reporting: A policy for compliance with all applicable state and federal reporting requirements must be adopted and updated as necessary; such federal requirements include but are not limited to the New Mexico health policy commission, the national practitioner data bank and the healthcare integrity and protection data bank.

N.M. Admin. Code § 8.370.12.19

Adopted by New Mexico Register, Volume XXXV, Issue 12, June 25, 2024, eff. 7/1/2024