(a) Discharge notice to family or legally authorized
representative (LAR).
(1) In accordance with Texas Health and Safety Code §576.007,
before discharging a patient who is an adult, a hospital shall make
a reasonable effort to notify the patient's family of the discharge,
if the patient grants permission for the notification.
(2) Except as provided by 42 CFR Part 2 and subsection
(b) of this section, before discharging a patient who is at least
16 years of age, a hospital shall make a reasonable effort to notify
the patient's LAR of the discharge.
(3) Except as provided by subsection (b) of this section,
before discharging a patient who is younger than 16 years of age,
a hospital shall notify the patient's LAR of the discharge.
(b) Disclosure harmful to patient. As permitted by
45 C.F.R. §164.524 and Texas Health and Safety Code §611.0045(b),
a hospital may deny a patient's LAR access to any portion of the patient's
record if the hospital determines that the disclosure of such portion
would be reasonably likely to endanger the life or physical safety
of the patient or another person.
(c) Release of minors. Except as required by §568.84(e)
of this subchapter (relating to Discharge of an Involuntary Patient),
upon discharge, the hospital may release a minor younger than 16 years
of age only to the minor's LAR or the LAR's designee.
(d) Notice of protection and advocacy system. Upon
discharge, the hospital shall provide the patient with written notification
of the existence, purpose, telephone number, and address of the protection
and advocacy system of the state of Texas, as required by Texas Health
and Safety Code §576.008.
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