| Passed by the Senate March 10, 2005 YEAS 46 ________________________________________ President of the Senate Passed by the House April 6, 2005 YEAS 98 ________________________________________ Speaker of the House of Representatives | I, Thomas Hoemann, Secretary of the Senate of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5065 as passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on the dates hereon set forth. ________________________________________ Secretary | |
| Approved ________________________________________ Governor of the State of Washington | Secretary of State State of Washington |
| State of Washington | 59th Legislature | 2005 Regular Session |
READ FIRST TIME 02/25/05.
AN ACT Relating to injuries resulting from health care; adding a new section to chapter 70.41 RCW; and creating a new section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 A new section is added to chapter 70.41 RCW
to read as follows:
Hospitals shall have in place policies to assure that, when
appropriate, information about unanticipated outcomes is provided to
patients or their families or any surrogate decision makers identified
pursuant to RCW 7.70.065. Notifications of unanticipated outcomes
under this section do not constitute an acknowledgement or admission of
liability, nor can the fact of notification, the content disclosed, or
any and all statements, affirmations, gestures, or conduct expressing
apology be introduced as evidence in a civil action.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 Beginning January 1, 2006, the department
shall, during the survey of a hospital, ensure that the policy required
in section 1 of this act is in place.