McDonough, Nolan, Palmesano, Peoples-Stokes, Schimminger, Simon
Add §2806-c, Pub Health L; amd §50-c, Civ Rts L
Relates to requiring a medical facility or related service to obtain express prior written consent before filming and/or broadcasting of visual images of a patient's medical treatment.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
420--B
Cal. No. 215
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BRAUNSTEIN, MOSLEY, JAFFEE, M. G. MILLER, ARROYO,
GOTTFRIED, ZEBROWSKI, COOK, MONTESANO, FINCH, SEAWRIGHT, FRIEND,
GALEF, HEVESI, WEPRIN, ABINANTI, L. ROSENTHAL, GRIFFIN -- Multi-Spon-
sored by -- M. of A. McDONOUGH, NOLAN, PALMESANO, PEOPLES-STOKES,
SCHIMMINGER, SIMON -- read once and referred to the Committee on
Health -- reported and referred to the Committee on Codes -- reported
from committee, advanced to a third reading, amended and ordered
reprinted, retaining its place on the order of third reading -- again
amended on third reading, ordered reprinted, retaining its place on
the order of third reading
AN ACT to amend the public health law and the civil rights law, in
relation to prohibiting the making and/or broadcasting of visual
images of individuals undergoing medical treatment without prior writ-
ten consent
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding a new section
2 2806-c to read as follows:
3 § 2806-c. Restrictions on broadcasting of patients. 1. Every patient
4 in a health care facility in this state shall have the right to have
5 privacy in treatment and in caring for personal needs, including the
6 broadcasting of the recognizable image or speech of such patient
7 involved in a health care procedure within the confines of such facili-
8 ty, with the exception of broadcasting such image or speech for the
9 purposes of advancing the health care treatment of the individual, a
10 quality assurance program, the education or training of health care
11 personnel, or necessary security purposes.
12 2. Such privacy in treatment shall include the obtaining by the health
13 care facility of express written consent on a separate document used
14 solely for such purpose from an individual receiving treatment in such
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02693-08-9
A. 420--B 2
1 facility prior to broadcasting the recognizable image or speech of such
2 patient involved in such treatment. In the case of broadcasting the
3 recognizable image or speech for education or training of health care
4 personnel, the patient shall have the right to know of and shall have
5 the right to refuse the broadcasting for that purpose. A person legally
6 authorized to make health care decisions for the patient or otherwise
7 authorized to consent may grant such consent or exercise such refusal if
8 the patient cannot reasonably do so due to such patient's incapacity.
9 3. For the purposes of this section:
10 (a) "health care facility" shall mean a residential health care facil-
11 ity, general hospital, free-standing ambulatory care facility, diagnos-
12 tic and/or treatment center and clinic authorized under this article, or
13 within an ambulance with all doors closed operated by an ambulance
14 service as defined by subdivision two of section three thousand one of
15 this chapter or by a voluntary ambulance service as defined by subdivi-
16 sion three of section three thousand one of this chapter;
17 (b) "quality assurance" shall mean any evaluation of services provided
18 in or by a health care facility for purposes of improvement in safety,
19 quality or outcomes;
20 (c) "education or training of health care personnel" shall mean a
21 program of education or training of health care personnel or students
22 being educated or trained to be health care personnel, that the health
23 care facility has authorized;
24 (d) "broadcasting" of an image or speech shall mean transmission by
25 broadcast, cable, closed circuit, internet or other television or visual
26 medium, social media, or other system by which it can be viewed in
27 violation of the privacy rights and expectations of a patient. Provided
28 however, that broadcasting shall not include incidental transmission of
29 the image or speech of an individual being treated, transported or
30 otherwise cared for or attended to by an ambulance service as defined in
31 subdivision two of section three thousand one of this chapter or by a
32 voluntary ambulance service as defined in subdivision three of section
33 three thousand one of this chapter, at an ambulance response scene,
34 public area or during delivery or admission to a health care facility,
35 that is captured by news media, bystanders or others who do not have the
36 written consent of such ambulance service or voluntary ambulance
37 service.
38 (e) Nothing in this section shall apply where such recognizable image
39 or speech is broadcast or conveyed as part of the news gathering process
40 among professional journalists, newscasters or other individuals or
41 entities, including those defined in subdivision (a) of section seven-
42 ty-nine-h of the civil rights law, and their agents and legal advisers,
43 but not broadcast to the public.
44 4. No health care facility, as defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision
45 three of this section, shall incur any liability under this section for
46 the broadcasting by a third party of the recognizable image or speech of
47 a patient involved in a health care procedure in the facility when such
48 image or speech was obtained by the third party without the knowledge or
49 consent of the facility or its staff.
50 5. Nothing in this section shall diminish or impair any right or
51 remedy otherwise applicable to any patient.
52 § 2. Section 50-c of the civil rights law, as amended by chapter 643
53 of the laws of 1999, is amended to read as follows:
54 § 50-c. Private right of action. 1. If the identity of the victim of
55 an offense defined in subdivision one of section fifty-b of this article
56 is disclosed in violation of such section, any person injured by such
A. 420--B 3
1 disclosure may bring an action to recover damages suffered by reason of
2 such wrongful disclosure. In any action brought under this section, the
3 court may award reasonable attorney's fees to a prevailing plaintiff.
4 2. If the privacy of an individual as defined in section twenty-eight
5 hundred six-c of the public health law regarding the right to have
6 privacy in treatment and in caring for personal needs, including the
7 broadcasting of the recognizable image or speech of a patient involved
8 in a health care procedure in such a facility has been violated, such
9 individual or his or her estate representative may bring an action to
10 recover damages suffered by reason of such violation. In any action
11 brought under this section, the court may award reasonable attorney's
12 fees to a prevailing plaintiff. The cause of action created herein shall
13 survive the death of such individual and shall only apply to violations
14 occurring on and after the effective date of this subdivision.
15 3. Nothing in this section shall diminish or impair any right or reme-
16 dy otherwise applicable to any patient.
17 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
