Purpose of the Bill

The bill seeks to regulate the performance of sensitive medical examinations on patients who are anesthetized or unconscious. It aims to protect patient rights and ensure ethical medical practices by requiring informed consent for such examinations.

Main Provisions

• Definition of Sensitive Examinations: The bill defines "sensitive examinations" as pelvic, breast, urogenital, or rectal examinations.
• Informed Consent Requirement: Health professionals, including students and residents in training programs, are prohibited from performing sensitive examinations on anesthetized or unconscious patients unless:
  1. The patient or their legally authorized representative has provided prior written informed consent for the examination, and it is necessary for preventive, diagnostic, or treatment purposes.
  2. Consent was given for a related surgical or diagnostic procedure that includes the sensitive examination within its scope.
  3. The patient is unconscious but the examination is crucial for diagnostic or treatment purposes.
  4. A court has ordered the examination for evidence collection.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Introduces legal requirements specifically mandating informed consent prior to performing sensitive examinations on unconscious or anesthetized patients.
• Establishes penalties and disciplinary actions for performing such examinations without adhering to the consent stipulations.

Penalties

• Any individual violating the law by performing a sensitive examination without proper consent is guilty of a gross misdemeanor.
• Violators may also face disciplinary actions from their respective health-related licensing boards.

Relevant Terms

informed consent, sensitive examinations, anesthetized patient, unconscious patient, pelvic examination, breast examination, urogenital examination, rectal examination, gross misdemeanor, disciplinary action, health professional, legally authorized representative, court-ordered examination, ethical medical practices.