RCW 68.70.010 Definitions.

The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(1) "Anatomical gift" has the same meaning as provided in RCW 68.64.010.

(2) "Auxiliary aids and services" include, but are not limited to:

(a) Qualified interpreters or other effective methods of making aurally delivered materials available to individuals with hearing impairments;

(b) Qualified readers, taped texts, or other effective methods of making visually delivered materials available to individuals with visual impairments;

(c) Provision of information in a format that is accessible for individuals with cognitive, neurological, developmental, and/or intellectual disabilities;

(d) Provision of supported decision-making services; and

(e) Acquisition or modification of equipment or devices.

(3) "Covered entity" means:

(a) Any licensed provider of health care services, including licensed health care practitioners, hospitals, nursing facilities, laboratories, intermediate care facilities, psychiatric residential treatment facilities, institutions for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities, and prison health centers; or

(b) Any entity responsible for matching anatomical gift donors to potential recipients.

(4) "Disability" has the same meaning as provided in the Americans with disabilities act of 1990, as amended by the Americans with disabilities act amendments act of 2008, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 12102.

(5) "Qualified individual" means an individual who, with or without the support networks available to them, provision of auxiliary aids and services, and/or reasonable modifications to policies or practices, meets the essential eligibility requirements for the receipt of an anatomical gift.

(6) "Reasonable modifications to policies or practices" include, but are not limited to:

(a) Communication with individuals responsible for supporting an individual with postsurgical and posttransplantation care, including medication; and

(b) Consideration of support networks available to the individual, including family, friends, and home and community-based services, including home and community-based services funded through medicaid, medicare, another health plan in which the individual is enrolled, or any program or source of funding available to the individual, in determining whether the individual is able to comply with posttransplant medical requirements.

(7) "Supported decision making" means the use of a support person to assist an individual in making medical decisions, communicate information to the individual, or ascertain an individual's wishes. "Supported decision making" may include:

(a) The inclusion of the individual's attorney-in-fact, health care proxy, or any person of the individual's choice in communications about the individual's medical care;

(b) Permitting the individual to designate a person of their choice for the purposes of supporting that individual in communicating, processing information, or making medical decisions;

(c) Providing auxiliary aids and services to facilitate the individual's ability to communicate and process health-related information, including use of assistive communication technology;

(d) Providing information to persons designated by the individual, consistent with the provisions of the health insurance portability and accountability act of 1996, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1301 et seq., and other applicable laws and regulations governing disclosure of health information;

(e) Providing health information in a format that is readily understandable by the individual; and

(f) Working with a court-appointed guardian or other individual responsible for making medical decisions on behalf of the individual, to ensure that the individual is included in decisions involving his or her own health care and that medical decisions are in accordance with the individual's own expressed interests.

[ 2019 c 315 § 2.]

NOTES:

Findings—2019 c 315: See note following RCW 68.70.020.