CHAPTER 297
SB 358-FN – FINAL VERSION
19Apr2006… 1768h
05/24/06 2264CofC
2006 SESSION
10/04
SENATE BILL 358-FN
AN ACT relative to a nurse’s duty to warn of violent acts of patients.
SPONSORS: Sen. Martel, Dist 18; Sen. Letourneau, Dist 19; Sen. Gallus, Dist 1; Sen. Clegg, Dist 14; Rep. G. Katsakiores, Rock 5; Rep. P. Katsakiores, Rock 5
COMMITTEE: Health and Human Services
This bill requires licensed nurses to discharge the duty to warn of violent acts of patients by notifying the licensee’s supervisor or the treating provider. Psychiatric advanced registered nurse practitioners must communicate the threat to the victim, notify the police department, or obtain civil commitment of the client.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
19Apr2006… 1768h
05/24/06 2264CofC
06-2388
10/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Six
AN ACT relative to a nurse’s duty to warn of violent acts of patients.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
297:1 Nurse Practice Act; Duty to Warn Of Violent Acts. RSA 326-B:33 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
326-B:33 Duty to Warn of Violent Acts of Client; Civil Liability.
I. A licensee has a duty to warn of, or to take reasonable precautions to provide protection from, a client’s violent behavior when the client has communicated to the licensee, a serious threat of physical violence against a clearly identified or reasonably identifiable victim or victims or a serious threat of substantial damage to real property.
II. A licensee shall discharge the duty either by notifying the licensee’s supervisor or the treating provider. A psychiatric ARNP shall discharge the duty by making reasonable efforts to communicate the threat to the victim or victims, notifying the police department closest to the client’s or potential victim’s residence, or obtaining civil commitment of the client to the state mental health system.
III. No monetary liability or cause of action based on breach of client privacy, confidentiality, or any other ground shall arise from an act or communication done in a good faith effort to discharge a duty.
297:2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.
Approved: June 15, 2006
Effective: July 1, 2006