From the Post-Gazette:
Hospital patients in Pennsylvania should now be prepared for a nurse to ask one more question beyond how they’re feeling, what medications they’re taking and other traditional inquiries.
Patients visited initially in their rooms are being asked for the name and phone number of a person they would rely on as an informal caregiver after being discharged from the hospital.
Under a new state law that took effect Thursday, hospitals are to record the names of caregivers, contact them prior to a patient’s discharge and provide them the same information or training given to patients for handling any medical needs expected after getting home.
