(a) Each hospital shall adopt and maintain a written discharge policy or policies that include the following components:

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Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 323G-2

  • After-care: means any assistance provided by a caregiver to a patient following the patient's discharge from a hospital that is related to the patient's condition at the time of discharge, including but not limited to assisting with basic activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, and other tasks determined to be appropriate by the discharging physician or other health care professional licensed pursuant to chapter 453 or 457. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 323G-1
  • Caregiver: means any individual duly designated by a patient to provide after-care to the patient in the patient's residence. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 323G-1
  • Contact information: means name, phone number, electronic mail address, and address of residence, where available. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 323G-1
  • Discharge: means a patient's exit or release from a hospital to the patient's residence following any medical care or treatment rendered to the patient following an inpatient admission. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 323G-1
  • Hospital: means a facility licensed under section 321-14. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 323G-1
  • Patient: means an individual admitted to a hospital for inpatient treatment. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 323G-1
  • Residence: means a dwelling that the patient considers to be the patient's home and shall not include any residential facility, treatment facility, or home licensed or certified by the department of health under chapter 321, or a private residence used for commercial purposes to care for dependent individuals. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 323G-1
(1) Each patient is provided an opportunity to designate a caregiver, to be included in the patient’s electronic health record;
(2) Each patient and the patient’s designated caregiver are given the opportunity to participate in the discharge planning;
(3) Each patient and the patient’s designated caregiver are given the opportunity to receive instruction, prior to discharge, related to the patient’s after-care needs; and
(4) Each patient’s caregiver is notified of the patient’s discharge or transfer. A hospital shall make reasonable attempts to notify the patient’s caregiver of the patient’s discharge to the patient’s residence as soon as practicable. In the event that 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.
(b) The discharge policy or policies shall specify the requirements for documenting:

(1) The caregiver who is designated by the patient; and
(2) The caregiver’s contact information.
(c) The discharge policy or policies shall also incorporate one of the following:

(1) Standards for accreditation adopted by The Joint Commission or other nationally recognized hospital accreditation organizations; or
(2) The conditions of participation for hospitals adopted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
(d) This section does not require hospitals to adopt discharge policies that would:

(1) Delay a patient’s discharge or transfer to another facility; or
(2) Require the disclosure of protected health information without obtaining the patient’s consent as required by state and federal laws governing health information privacy and security.
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