102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
SB1824

 

Introduced 2/26/2021, by Sen. Patricia Van Pelt

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

    Creates the Unidentified Patient Act. Provides that the Act may be referred to as the Elisha Brittman Law. Provides that upon the arrival of an unidentified patient into a hospital's emergency department the hospital shall take specified efforts towards identifying the patient. Requires a hospital to contact the local law enforcement agency and request that a missing person report be completed for an unidentified patient if the specified efforts are not possible or are unsuccessful. Provides that local law enforcement should be requested to enter an unidentified patient into the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Crime Information Center database. Requires hospital staff to contact local law enforcement to perform fingerprinting services in an effort to identify an unidentified patient. Provides that hospital staff shall make a referral to the hospital's public information officer to obtain specified identifying materials and submit them to local media outlets if the fingerprinting services are not possible or are unsuccessful. Provides that if a hospital receives a claim from an individual of being an unidentified patient's next of kin, a DNA sample may be collected from the unidentified patient and the individual and verified either on-site or at an associated laboratory, but must be provided on a voluntary basis and shall be used solely to help identify the unidentified patient and any familial relations. Provides that if law enforcement requests an unidentified patient's information to help identify a suspect, fugitive, material witness, or missing person, the hospital and hospital personnel must disclose only the information allowed under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. Defines terms.


LRB102 17109 CPF 22539 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB1824LRB102 17109 CPF 22539 b

1    AN ACT concerning health.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title; references to Act.
5    (a) Short title. This Act may be cited as the Unidentified
6Patient Act.
7    (b) References to Act. This Act may be referred to as the
8Elisha Brittman Law.
 
9    Section 5. Purpose. This Act is designed to provide
10guidance to emergency department staff in developing
11procedures for the identification of unidentified patients
12that are admitted to a hospital.
 
13    Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
14    "Adequate identification" means the ability of a patient
15or escort to positively identify the patient's relevant
16information, including, but not limited to, the patient's
17name, address, date of birth, or next of kin.
18    "HIPAA" means the federal Health Insurance Portability and
19Accountability Act of 1996.
20    "Hospital" means any institution licensed under the
21Hospital Licensing Act or operated under the University of
22Illinois Hospital Act.

 

 

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1    "Missing person report" means a report generated pursuant
2to the Missing Persons Identification Act.
3    "Unidentified patient" means a patient who is brought into
4the emergency department of a hospital without any
5identification, is unable to self-identify, and the hospital
6is unable to obtain adequate identification.
 
7    Section 15. Procedure.
8    (a) Upon the arrival of an unidentified patient into a
9hospital's emergency department:
10        (1) Hospital staff members shall review the patient's
11    chart and personal belongings and hospital records to
12    determine if there is any information regarding the
13    patient's identity.
14        (2) The hospital's admission staff members shall
15    notify any centralized information desk or visitor desk of
16    the unidentified patient so that inquiries are referred to
17    the appropriate hospital staff as well as any law
18    enforcement personnel that may be involved.
19        (3) Detailed physical descriptions should be entered
20    into the hospital's patient database, along with any
21    information gathered from emergency medical technicians or
22    law enforcement personnel.
23    (b) If initial identification efforts for a patient under
24subsection (a) are not possible or are unsuccessful, the
25hospital shall contact the local law enforcement agency and

 

 

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1request that a missing person report be completed for an
2unidentified patient who is living or deceased. The law
3enforcement agency should be requested to enter the
4unidentified patient into the Federal Bureau of
5Investigation's National Crime Information Center database as
6an Unidentified Living Person or Unidentified Deceased Person.
7    (c) Hospital staff shall contact local law enforcement to
8perform fingerprinting services in an effort to identify an
9unidentified patient.
10    (d) If identification of an unidentified patient is not
11possible or is not successful using the fingerprinting process
12under subsection (c), hospital staff shall make a referral to
13the hospital's public information officer to obtain a
14description and, if possible, a photograph of the unidentified
15patient, as well as any significant case-specific facts that
16may help with identification of the unidentified patient. This
17information shall be submitted to local media outlets for
18assistance in identification of the unidentified patient, with
19an emphasis on the media from where the unidentified patient
20was brought in from.
21    (e) If an unidentified patient is not identified within
22one week after publication under subsection (d), the
23information submitted to local media outlets shall be
24submitted to a wider publication area.
25    (f) If a hospital receives a claim from an individual of
26being an unidentified patient's next of kin, a DNA sample may

 

 

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1be collected from the unidentified patient and the individual
2and verified either on-site or at an associated laboratory.
3Any DNA sample collected under this subsection must be
4provided on a voluntary basis and shall be used solely to help
5identify the unidentified patient and any familial relations.
6    (g) If law enforcement requests an unidentified patient's
7information to help identify a suspect, fugitive, material
8witness, or missing person, the hospital and hospital
9personnel must disclose only the information allowed under
10HIPAA, including only disclosing DNA, dental records, or body
11fluid as a means of identification pursuant to a court order,
12warrant, or written administrative request.