What's happening
This bill requires informed consent for all health care procedures or examinations, even if done for education or training purposes.
Why it matters
Enhances patient autonomy. by ensuring that individuals are explicitly informed and must consent to any medical procedure or examination, regardless of whether it is being performed for educational or training purposes.
Closes a legal loophole. that has sometimes allowed medical students or trainees to perform procedures on patients (especially under anesthesia) without the patient’s explicit knowledge or consent, increasing transparency in medical settings.
May increase trust in medical institutions. by affirming that patients’ rights take precedence over educational convenience, potentially reducing instances of trauma or distress related to uninformed procedures.
Could impact medical education practices. , requiring teaching hospitals and institutions to update consent processes and provide more comprehensive explanations to patients, possibly affecting how hands-on training is conducted.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Require Consent for Training Procedures
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
3 Co-sponsors
History
- Substituted by A4988
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.456
- Referred to health
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Require Consent for Medical Training
Signed by Governor · Sponsor Amy Paulin
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
3353
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 6, 2019
Introduced by Sen. RAMOS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to informed consent for procedures in the course of education or training
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 18-b to read as follows:
§ 18-b. Procedures in the course of education or training; consent. In the case of any health care procedure or examination, the fact that it is performed in the course of education or training shall not diminish the requirement for informed consent for the procedure or examination.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09034-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to informed consent for procedures in the course of education or training
Purpose
To amend the public health law, in relation to informed consent for procedures in the course of education or training
Summary of provisions
Section one adds a new section 18-b to the public health law to state that in case of any health care procedure or examination, the fact that the procedure or examination is performed in the course of education or training does not diminish the requirement for informed consent for the procedure or examination.
Section two provides the effective date.
Justification
Informed consent is considered a standard practice in the field of medi- cine. According to an article in Forbes on May 14, 2018, training physi- cians are still routinely instructing medical students to practice performing pelvic examinations on unconscious and anesthetized patients who are undergoing surgery for training purposes only. Alarmingly, the majority of patients are unaware that this practice is happening because no informed consent was given prior to these examinations and no documentation of the exams is kept. This practice of not requesting informed consent for procedures and examinations for training purposes only is not exclusive to pelvic exams on unconscious women and extends to rectal and prostate exams on unconscious patients as well.
The importance of instilling the value of informed consent on medical students cannot be underestimated. An article published by the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology indicated that while the majority of first-year medical students were troubled by the idea of performing pelvic exams on unconscious women without consent, their concerns about this practice diminished by the time they graduated from medical school. This "ethical erosion" has significant implications for how a physician may treat patients in the future. A simple recommendation to avoid this ethically-difficult situation is to ensure that students perform exam- inations only after patients have given consent explicitly.
Legislative history
None
Fiscal implications
None to state.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.