Title: Senate Bill 1152: California’s Hospital Discharge Policy for Homeless Patients and How It May Affect Substance Use Disorder Treatment Providers | Polsinelli - JDSupra
Headings: Senate Bill 1152: California’s Hospital Discharge Policy for Homeless Patients and How It May Affect Substance Use Disorder Treatment Providers
Senate Bill 1152: California’s Hospital Discharge Policy for Homeless Patients and How It May Affect Substance Use Disorder Treatment Providers
What are the Material Changes to the Current Law?
Who is Affected by the New Law
Practical Tips and Takeaways
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Content: Beginning July 1, 2019, hospitals must also have a written plan for coordinating services and referrals for homeless patients with the county behavioral health agency, health care and social services agencies in the region, health care providers and nonprofit social services providers. Each hospital will be required to maintain a log of the homeless patients discharged from their facilities and the post-discharge destinations of each homeless patient. Who is Affected by the New Law
The law applies directly to general acute care hospitals, acute psychiatric hospitals and special hospitals licensed by the California Department of Public Health. However, the new law may indirectly affect behavioral health or other health care facilities that accept homeless patients discharged from a hospital. Practical Tips and Takeaways
Hospitals should review their discharge planning policies and procedures now and revise them as appropriate to ensure compliance with this new law. Hospitals should also consider circumstances where they may need to take legal action to discharge a homeless patient. Hospitals should consider appropriate training for discharge planning staff, certain medical staff and other personnel who may be part of a patient’s care team to ensure organization-wide compliance with the new law. Training protocols and other required aspects of a written homeless discharge plan must be in place as of July 1, 2019, although it may be advisable to put them in place as of January 1, 2019 given the close relationship they will have to other homeless discharge policies and procedures that must be implemented by January 1, 2019. Affected hospitals should begin or continue coordination and communication efforts with appropriate agencies, other health care providers and nonprofit social services providers now. Currently, SB 1152 only focuses on hospitals and does not contain language that obligates receiving behavioral health or other health care facilities to accept homeless patients.