1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings. A. "Health care facility" means a hospital or ambulatory surgical center licensed under chapter 405. [PL 2007, c. 605, §1 (NEW).] B. "Mistake or preventable adverse event" means any of the following events that is within the health care facility's control to avoid: (1) Surgery performed on the wrong body part; (2) Surgery performed on the wrong patient; (3) The wrong surgical procedure performed on a patient; (4) Unintended retention of a foreign object in a patient after surgery or another procedure; (5) Intraoperative or immediately postoperative preventable death of a patient classified as a normal healthy patient under guidelines published by a national association of anesthesiologists; (6) Patient death or serious disability caused by the use of contaminated drugs, devices or biologics provided by a hospital or ambulatory surgical center; (7) Patient death or serious disability caused by the use or function of a device in patient care in which the device is used for functions other than as intended; (8) Patient death or serious disability caused by an intravascular air embolism that occurs while being cared for in a health care facility; (9) An infant's being discharged to the wrong person; (10) Patient death or serious disability caused by a patient's elopement for more than 4 hours; (11) Patient suicide or attempted suicide resulting in serious disability while being cared for in a health care facility; (12) Patient death or serious disability caused by a medication error such as an error involving the wrong drug, wrong dose, wrong patient, wrong time, wrong rate, wrong preparation or wrong route of administration; (13) Patient death or serious disability caused by a hemolytic reaction due to the administration of incompatible blood or blood products; (14) Maternal death or serious disability caused by labor or delivery in a low-risk pregnancy, labor and delivery while being cared for in a health care facility; (15) Patient death or serious disability caused by hypoglycemia, the onset of which occurs while the patient is being cared for in a health care facility; (16) Death or serious disability caused by failure to identify and treat hyperbilirubinemia in neonates prior to discharge; (17) Stage 3 or 4 pressure ulcers acquired after admission to a health care facility; (18) Patient death or serious disability due to spinal manipulative therapy; (19) Patient death or serious disability caused by an electric shock while being cared for in a health care facility; (20) Any incident in which a line designated for oxygen or other gas to be delivered to a patient contains the wrong gas or is contaminated by toxic substances; (21) Patient death or serious disability caused by a burn incurred from any source while being cared for in a health care facility; (22) Patient death caused by a fall by a patient who was or should have been identified as requiring precautions due to risk of falling while being cared for in a health care facility; (23) Patient death or serious disability caused by the use of restraints or bedrails while being cared for in a health care facility; (24) Any instance of care ordered by or provided by someone impersonating a physician, nurse, pharmacist or other licensed health care provider; (25) Abduction of a patient of any age; (26) Sexual assault of a patient within a health care facility; (27) Death or significant injury of a patient resulting from a physical assault that occurs within a health care facility; and (28) Artificial insemination with the wrong donor sperm or donor egg. [PL 2007, c. 605, §1 (NEW).] [PL 2007, c. 605, §1 (NEW).] 2. Prohibition. A health care facility is prohibited from knowingly charging a patient or the patient's insurer or the patient's employer as defined in Title 39-A, section 102, subsection 12 for health care services it provided as a result of or to correct a mistake or preventable adverse event caused by that health care facility. [PL 2009, c. 31, §1 (AMD).] 3. Patient education. A health care facility is required to inform patients of the prohibition on payment for health care facility mistakes or preventable adverse events. [PL 2007, c. 605, §1 (NEW).] REVISOR'S NOTE: §1721. Voluntary restraint (As enacted by PL 2007, c. 629, Pt. C, §1 is REALLOCATED TO TITLE 22, SECTION 1722)
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