11160.
(a) A health practitioner, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 11162.5, employed by a health facility, clinic, physician’s office, local or state public health department, local government agency, or a clinic or other type of facility operated by a local or state public health department who, in the health practitioner’s professional capacity or within the scope of the health practitioner’s employment, provides medical services for a physical condition to a patient whom the health practitioner knows or reasonably suspects is a person suffering
from any of the following shall immediately make a report in accordance with subdivision (b):(1) A wound or other physical injury inflicted by the person’s own act or inflicted by another where the injury is by means of a firearm.
(2) A wound or other physical injury resulting from child abuse, pursuant to Section 11165.6.
(3) A wound or other physical injury resulting from abuse of an elder or dependent adult, pursuant to Section 15610.07 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(b) A health practitioner, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 11162.5, employed by a health facility, clinic, physician’s office, local or state public
health department, local government agency, or a clinic or other type of facility operated by a local or state public health department shall make a report regarding persons described in subdivision (a) to a local law enforcement agency as follows:
(1) A report by telephone shall be made immediately or as soon as practically possible.
(2) A written report shall be prepared on the standard form developed in compliance with paragraph (4), and adopted by the Office of Emergency Services, or on a form developed and adopted by another state agency that otherwise fulfills the requirements of the standard form. The completed form shall be maintained in the medical record and sent to a local law enforcement agency within two working days of the patient receiving treatment.
(3) A local law enforcement agency shall be notified and a written report shall be prepared and sent pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) even if the person who suffered the wound or other injury has expired, regardless of whether or not the wound or other injury was a factor contributing to the death, and even if the evidence of the conduct of the perpetrator of the wound or other injury was discovered during an autopsy.
(4) The report shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following:
(A) The name of the injured person, if known.
(B) The injured person’s whereabouts.
(C) The character and
extent of the person’s injuries.
(D) The identity of any person the injured person alleges inflicted the wound or other injury upon the injured person.
(c) If an adult seeking care for injuries related to domestic, sexual, or any nonaccidental violent injury, requests a report be sent to law enforcement, health practitioners shall adhere to the reporting process outlined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b). The medical documentation of injuries related to domestic, sexual, or any nonaccidental violent injury shall be conducted and made available to the patient for use as outlined in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
(d) For the purposes of this section, “injury” does not include any psychological or
physical condition brought about solely through the voluntary administration of a narcotic or restricted dangerous drug.
(e) When two or more persons who are required to report are present and jointly have knowledge of a known or suspected instance of violence that is required to be reported pursuant to this section, and when there is an agreement among these persons to report as a team, the team may select by mutual agreement a member of the team to make a report by telephone and a single written report, as required by subdivision (b). The written report shall be signed by the selected member of the reporting team. Any
member who has knowledge that the member designated to report has failed to do so shall thereafter make the report.
(f) The reporting duties under this section are individual, except as provided in subdivision (e).
(g) A supervisor or administrator shall not impede or inhibit the reporting duties required under this section and a person making a report pursuant to this section shall not be subject to any sanction for making the report. However, internal procedures to facilitate reporting and apprise supervisors and administrators of reports may be established, except that these procedures shall not be inconsistent with this article. The internal procedures shall not require an employee required to make a report under this article to disclose the employee’s identity
to the employer.
(h) (1) A health practitioner, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 11162.5, employed by a health facility, clinic, physician’s office, local or state public health department, local government agency, or a clinic or other type of facility operated by a local or state public health department who, in the health practitioner’s professional capacity or within the scope of the health practitioner’s employment, provides medical services to a patient whom the health practitioner knows or reasonably suspects is experiencing any form of domestic violence, as set forth in Section 124250 of the Health and Safety Code, or sexual violence, as set forth in Sections 243.4 and 261, shall, to the degree that it is medically possible for the individual patient, provide brief counseling, education, or other support, and
offer a warm handoff or referral to local and national domestic violence or sexual violence advocacy services, as described in Sections 1035.2 and 1037.1 of the Evidence Code, before the end of the patient visit. The health practitioner shall have met the requirements of this subdivision when the brief counseling, education, or other support is provided and warm handoff or referral is offered by a member of the health care team at the health facility.
(2) If the health practitioner is providing medical services to the patient in the emergency department of a general acute care hospital, they shall also offer assistance to the patient in accessing a forensic evidentiary exam or reporting to law enforcement, if the patient wants to pursue these options.
(i) A health practitioner
may offer a warm handoff and referral to other available victim services, including, but not limited to, legal aid, community-based organizations, behavioral health, crime victim compensation, forensic evidentiary exams, trauma recovery centers, family justice centers, and law enforcement to patients who are suspected to have suffered any nonaccidental injury.
(j) To the extent possible, health practitioners shall document all nonaccidental violent injuries and incidents of abuse in the medical record. Health practitioners shall follow privacy and confidentiality protocols when documenting violence and abuse to promote the safety of the patient. If documenting abuse in the medical record increases danger for the patient, it may be marked confidential.
(k) This section does
not limit or override the ability of a health care practitioner to make reports to law enforcement at the patient’s request, or as permitted by the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 in Section 164.512(c) of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations, which permits disclosures about victims of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence, if the individual agrees, or pursuant to Section 164.512(j) of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations, which permits disclosures to prevent or limit a serious and imminent threat to a person or the public.
(l) For the purposes of this section, it is the Legislature’s intent to avoid duplication of information.
(m) For purposes of this section only, “employed by a local government agency” includes an employee of an
entity under contract with a local government agency to provide medical services.
(n) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1) “Warm handoff” may include, but is not limited to, the health practitioner establishing direct and live connection through a call with a survivor advocate, in-person onsite survivor advocate, in-person on-call survivor advocate, or some other form of teleadvocacy. When a telephone call is not possible, the warm handoff may be completed through an email. The patient may decline the warm handoff.
(2) “Referral” may include, but is not limited to, the health practitioner sharing information about how a patient can get in touch with a local
or national survivor advocacy organization, information about how the survivor advocacy organization could be helpful for the patient, what the patient could expect when contacting the survivor advocacy organization, or the survivor advocacy organization’s contact information.
(o) A health practitioner shall not be civilly or criminally liable for acting in compliance with this section and for any report that is made in good faith and in compliance with this section and all other applicable state and federal laws.
(p) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2025.