§ 23-17.5-18 - Development of responsibilities.
SECTION 23-17.5-18
§ 23-17.5-18 Development ofresponsibilities. – All rights and responsibilities specified in §§ 23-17.5-3, 23-17.5-7,23-17.5-15, and 23-17.5-17 shall devolve, in order of priority, to a patient'sguardian, next of kin, sponsoring agency(ies) or representative payor (exceptwhen the facility itself is the representative payor) for patients who are:
(1) Adjudicated incompetent in accordance with state law; or
(2) Found by the physician to be medically incapable ofunderstanding their rights; or
(3) Found to exhibit a communication barrier. If, however,the communication barrier is one of speaking a language other than English,then an attempt shall be made to find an interpreter to allow the patient toknowingly exercise his or her rights.