(A) As used in this section:
(1) "Senior service provider" means any person who provides care or
services to a person who is an adult as defined in division (B) of section
5101.60 of the Revised Code.
(2) "Ambulatory health facility" means a nonprofit, public or
proprietary freestanding organization or a unit of such an agency or
organization that:
(a) Provides preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic, rehabilitative, or
palliative items or services furnished to an outpatient or ambulatory patient,
by or under the direction of a physician or dentist in a facility which is not a
part of a hospital, but which is organized and operated to provide medical care
to outpatients;
(b) Has health and medical care policies which are developed with the advice
of, and with the provision of review of such policies, an advisory committee of
professional personnel, including one or more physicians, one or more dentists,
if dental care is provided, and one or more registered nurses;
(c) Has a medical director, a dental director, if dental care is provided,
and a nursing director responsible for the execution of such policies, and has
physicians, dentists, nursing, and ancillary staff appropriate to the scope of
services provided;
(d) Requires that the health care and medical care of every patient be under
the supervision of a physician, provides for medical care in a case of
emergency, has in effect a written agreement with one or more hospitals and
other centers or clinics, and has an established patient referral system to
other resources, and a utilization review plan and program;
(e) Maintains clinical records on all patients;
(f) Provides nursing services and other therapeutic services in accordance
with programs and policies, with such services supervised by a registered
professional nurse, and has a registered professional nurse on duty at all times
of clinical operations;
(g) Provides approved methods and procedures for the dispensing and
administration of drugs and biologicals;
(h) Has established an accounting and record keeping system to determine
reasonable and allowable costs;
(i) "Ambulatory health facilities" also includes an alcoholism
treatment facility approved by the joint commission on accreditation of
healthcare organizations as an alcoholism treatment facility or certified by the
department of alcohol and drug addiction services, and such facility shall
comply with other provisions of this division not inconsistent with such
accreditation or certification.
(3) "Community mental health facility" means a facility which
provides community mental health services and is included in the comprehensive
mental health plan for the alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health service
district in which it is located.
(4) "Community mental health service" means services, other than
inpatient services, provided by a community mental health facility.
(5) "Home health agency" means an institution or a distinct part of
an institution operated in this state which:
(a) Is primarily engaged in providing home health services;
(b) Has home health policies which are established by a group of professional
personnel, including one or more duly licensed doctors of medicine or osteopathy
and one or more registered professional nurses, to govern the home health
services it provides and which includes a requirement that every patient must be
under the care of a duly licensed doctor of medicine or osteopathy;
(c) Is under the supervision of a duly licensed doctor of medicine or doctor
of osteopathy or a registered professional nurse who is responsible for the
execution of such home health policies;
(d) Maintains comprehensive records on all patients;
(e) Is operated by the state, a political subdivision, or an agency of
either, or is operated not for profit in this state and is licensed or
registered, if required, pursuant to law by the appropriate department of the
state, county, or municipality in which it furnishes services; or is operated
for profit in this state, meets all the requirements specified in divisions
(A)(5)(a) to (d) of this section, and is certified under Title XVIII of the
"Social Security Act," 49 Stat. 620 (1935), 42 U.S.C. 301, as amended.
(6) "Home health service" means the following items and services,
provided, except as provided in division (A)(6)(g) of this section, on a
visiting basis in a place of residence used as the patient's home:
(a) Nursing care provided by or under the supervision of a registered
professional nurse;
(b) Physical, occupational, or speech therapy ordered by the patient's
attending physician;
(c) Medical social services performed by or under the supervision of a
qualified medical or psychiatric social worker and under the direction of the
patient's attending physician;
(d) Personal health care of the patient performed by aides in accordance with
the orders of a doctor of medicine or osteopathy and under the supervision of a
registered professional nurse;
(e) Medical supplies and the use of medical appliances;
(f) Medical services of interns and residents-in-training under an approved
teaching program of a nonprofit hospital and under the direction and supervision
of the patient's attending physician;
(g) Any of the foregoing items and services which:
(i) Are provided on an outpatient basis under arrangements made by the home
health agency at a hospital or skilled nursing facility;
(ii) Involve the use of equipment of such a nature that the items and
services cannot readily be made available to the patient in the patient's place
of residence, or which are furnished at the hospital or skilled nursing facility
while the patient there to receive any item or service involving the use of such
equipment.
Any attorney, physician, osteopath, podiatrist, chiropractor, dentist,
psychologist, any employee of a hospital as defined in section (B) Any person having reasonable cause to believe that an adult has suffered
abuse, neglect, or exploitation may report, or cause reports to be made of such
belief to the department.
(C) The reports made under this section shall be made orally or in writing
except that oral reports shall be followed by a written report if a written
report is requested by the department. Written reports shall include:
(1) The name, address, and approximate age of the adult who is the subject of
the report;
(2) The name and address of the individual responsible for the adult's care,
if any individual is, and if the individual is known;
(3) The nature and extent of the alleged abuse, neglect, or exploitation of
the adult;
(4) The basis of the reporter's belief that the adult has been abused,
neglected, or exploited.
(D) Any person with reasonable cause to believe that an adult is suffering
abuse, neglect, or exploitation who makes a report pursuant to this section or
who testifies in any administrative or judicial proceeding arising from such a
report, or any employee of the state or any of its subdivisions who is
discharging responsibilities under section 5101.62 of the Revised Code shall be
immune from civil or criminal liability on account of such investigation,
report, or testimony, except liability for perjury, unless the person has acted
in bad faith or with malicious purpose.
(E) No employer or any other person with the authority to do so shall
discharge, demote, transfer, prepare a negative work performance evaluation, or
reduce benefits, pay, or work privileges, or take any other action detrimental
to an employee or in any way retaliate against an employee as a result of the
employee's having filed a report under this section.
(F) Neither the written or oral report provided for in this section nor the
investigatory report provided for in section 5101.62 of the Revised Code shall
be considered a public record as defined in section HISTORY: 139 v H 694 (Eff 11-15-81); 141 v H 66 (Eff 3-6-86); 142 v S 124
(Eff 10-1-87); 143 v S 2 (Eff 11-1-89); 143 v H 253 (Eff 11-15-90); 143 v H 317
(Eff 10-10-89); 146 v H 117 (Eff 9-29-95); 148 v H 471. Eff 7-1-2000.
The effective date is set by section 12(A) of HB 471.
© Copyright 2000
Containing legislation passed and filed through August 1, 2000.