AB 48 (Aguiar-Curry, D-Winters)

AB 48 would establish new rights and procedures for obtaining informed consent from skilled-nursing facility residents before administering treatments or procedures involving psychotherapeutic drugs, except in an emergency. As part of this new process, before treatment is initiated, skilled-nursing facilities must verify that a consent form has been completed to ensure specified information has been shared with the patient prior to providing consent. The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is charged with developing the consent for. Facilities will not be required to comply until CDPH has developed and disseminated the standardized consent form by Dec. 31, 2024. AB 48 is a reintroduction of AB 1809, a 2022 bill by the same author. That bill was vetoed. CHA, along with the California Association of Health Facilities, successfully worked with the author’s office to secure amendments in AB 1809 to remove language that could have led to additional criminal or civil penalties for skilled-nursing facilities.