1262.5.

 (a) Each hospital shall have a written discharge planning policy and process.

(b) The policy required by subdivision (a) shall require that appropriate arrangements for posthospital care, including, but not limited to, care at home, in a skilled nursing or intermediate care facility, or from a hospice, are made prior to discharge for those patients who are likely to suffer adverse health consequences upon discharge if there is no adequate discharge planning. If the hospital determines that the patient and family members or interested persons need to be counseled to prepare them for posthospital care, the hospital shall provide for that counseling.

(c) As part of the discharge planning process, the hospital shall provide each patient who has been admitted to the hospital as an inpatient with an opportunity to identify one family caregiver who may assist in posthospital care, and shall record this information in the patient’s medical chart.

(A) In the event that the patient is unconscious or otherwise incapacitated upon admittance to the hospital, the hospital shall provide the patient or patient’s legal guardian with an opportunity to designate a caregiver within a specified time period, at the discretion of the attending physician, following the patient’s recovery of consciousness or capacity. The hospital shall promptly document the attempt in the patient’s medical record.

(B) In the event that the patient or legal guardian declines to designate a caregiver pursuant to this section, the hospital shall promptly document this declination in the patient’s medical record, when appropriate.

(d) The policy required by subdivision (a) shall require that the patient’s designated family caregiver be notified of the patient’s discharge or transfer to another facility as soon as possible and, in any event, upon issuance of a discharge order by the patient’s attending physician. If the hospital is unable to contact the designated caregiver, the lack of contact shall not interfere with, delay, or otherwise affect the medical care provided to the patient or an appropriate discharge of the patient. The hospital shall promptly document the attempted notification in the patient’s medical record.

(e) The process required by subdivision (a) shall require that the patient and family caregiver be informed of the continuing health care requirements following discharge from the hospital. The right to information regarding continuing health care requirements following discharge shall also apply to the person who has legal responsibility to make decisions regarding medical care on behalf of the patient, if the patient is unable to make those decisions for himself or herself. The hospital shall provide an opportunity for the patient and his or her designated family caregiver to engage in the discharge planning process, which shall include providing information and, when appropriate, instruction regarding the posthospital care needs of the patient. This information shall include, but is not limited to, education and counseling about the patient’s medications, including dosing and proper use of medication delivery devices, when applicable. The information shall be provided in a culturally competent manner and in a language that is comprehensible to the patient and caregiver, consistent with the requirements of state and federal law, and shall include an opportunity for the caregiver to ask questions about the posthospital care needs of the patient.

(f) (1) A transfer summary shall accompany the patient upon transfer to a skilled nursing or intermediate care facility or to the distinct part-skilled nursing or intermediate care service unit of the hospital. The transfer summary shall include essential information relative to the patient’s diagnosis, hospital course, pain treatment and management, medications, treatments, dietary requirement, rehabilitation potential, known allergies, and treatment plan, and shall be signed by the physician.

(2) A copy of the transfer summary shall be given to the patient and the patient’s legal representative, if any, prior to transfer to a skilled nursing or intermediate care facility.

(g) A hospital shall establish and implement a written policy to ensure that each patient receives, at the time of discharge, information regarding each medication dispensed, pursuant to Section 4074 of the Business and Professions Code.

(h) A hospital shall provide every patient anticipated to be in need of long-term care at the time of discharge with contact information for at least one public or nonprofit agency or organization dedicated to providing information or referral services relating to community-based long-term care options in the patient’s county of residence and appropriate to the needs and characteristics of the patient. At a minimum, this information shall include contact information for the area agency on aging serving the patient’s county of residence, local independent living centers, or other information appropriate to the needs and characteristics of the patient.

(i) A contract between a general acute care hospital and a health care service plan that is issued, amended, renewed, or delivered on or after January 1, 2002, may not contain a provision that prohibits or restricts any health care facility’s compliance with the requirements of this section.

(j) Discharge planning policies adopted by a hospital in accordance with this section shall ensure that planning is appropriate to the condition of the patient being discharged from the hospital and to the discharge destination and meets the needs and acuity of patients.

(k) This section does not require a hospital to do either of the following:

(1) Adopt a policy that would delay discharge or transfer of a patient.

(2) Disclose information if the patient has not provided consent that meets the standards required by state and federal laws governing the privacy and security of protected health information.

(l) This section does not supersede or modify any privacy and information security requirements and protections in federal and state law regarding protected health information or personally identifiable information, including, but not limited to, the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 300gg).

(m) For the purposes of this section, “family caregiver” means a relative, friend, or neighbor who provides assistance related to an underlying physical or mental disability but who is unpaid for those services.