General acute care hospitals: patient directories.

Corrected a redundant drafting error throughout the bill where 'a patient, patient or the patient's representative' (or 'the patient. patient or the patient's representative') appeared in Section 1275.9(a) and subsection (a)(2), now properly reading 'a patient or the patient's representative.'

Removed a stray duplicate subsection letter '(c)' that appeared between the definition of 'patient's representative' and the operative date provision.

The bill was formally chaptered as Chapter 384 with the Governor's approval date of October 6, 2025 recorded.

The enrolled bill header (Assembly and Senate passage signatures) was replaced with the standard 'STATE OF CALIFORNIA AUTHENTICATED ELECTRONIC LEGAL MATERIAL' header used for final publication.

Page numbering, indentation, and line wrapping were adjusted throughout to conform to the chaptered bill layout. No statutory language was added, removed, or altered.

Section 3 was deleted entirely. It had stated the Legislature's intent to protect the privacy of undocumented Californians in hospitals. Removing it strips the explicit immigration-related purpose from the bill, making it a general patient directory privacy measure rather than one framed around immigrant protections.

The bill's short title was simplified by removing the broader 'relating to health and care facilities' language, narrowing it to just adding Section 1275.9 to the Health and Safety Code relating to health facilities.

The separate document that hospitals must provide now must include not only directory information but also an acknowledgment of receipt of the hospital's notice of privacy practices required by Section 164.520 of Title 45 CFR (the federal HIPAA privacy notice requirement). This ties the state requirement more closely to existing federal obligations.

Timing language was changed from 'at the earliest time possible' to 'at the earliest time admission or as soon as reasonably possible' in cases of patient incapacity or emergency treatment, providing a clearer standard for when hospitals must inform patients.

Changed 'check boxes' (plural) to 'a check box' (singular) on the separate document, and changed 'in either of the following manners' to 'in either both of the following manners' (the latter appears to be a drafting error).

Fiscal committee vote corrected from 'no yes' to 'yes' and state-mandated local program designation corrected from 'no yes' to 'yes,' confirming that the bill does impose a state-mandated local program.

New Section 1275.9 requires general acute care hospitals to inform patients at admission (or earliest time possible during emergencies or incapacity) that they may restrict or prohibit use or disclosure of their protected health information in the hospital's patient directory, per HIPAA Section 164.510.

Hospitals must provide the directory notification via either a separate document with checkboxes for authorizing or restricting disclosure, or through verbal notification by hospital personnel.

The required information must be made available in the top five languages other than English spoken in the hospital's service area.

A new Section 2 states that no state reimbursement is required under Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs relate to creating or changing a crime or infraction.

The bill's scope expanded from a general statement about health facilities and immigration privacy to specifically targeting general acute care hospitals and their patient directory practices, with a new subtitle added to the digest.

Fiscal notes changed from 'no' to 'yes' for both fiscal committee review and state-mandated local program, reflecting that the new hospital requirements constitute a state-mandated local program with potential criminal penalties for violations.

New subdivision (c) sets an operative date of July 1, 2026, giving hospitals time to prepare before the requirements take effect.

Changed 'in either both of the following manners' to 'in both of the following manners,' removing a contradictory phrase and making clear that hospitals must use BOTH a separate document AND verbal notification, not just one or the other.

Simplified the timing requirement from 'at the time of admitting, or at the earliest time admission or as soon as reasonably possible' to 'at the time of admission or as soon as reasonably possible,' removing redundant and confusing language.

Fixed a drafting error in the document description: changed 'Using a separate document that only includes paper or digital document that only includes an acknowledgment' to 'Using a separate paper or digital document that only includes an acknowledgment.'

Assembly Member Alanis was added as a coauthor of the bill.

The right to restrict or prohibit use or disclosure of protected health information in the hospital patient directory now extends to 'the patient or the patient's representative,' not just the patient alone. This applies to both the written checkbox and the verbal notification requirements.

A new subdivision (c) defines 'patient's representative' as a person who has legal authority to make decisions regarding medical care on behalf of the patient.

The operative date provision was renumbered from subdivision (c) to subdivision (d) to accommodate the new definition.

Assembly Member Ward and Senator Rubio were added as coauthors.