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's guardian, next of kin, sponsoring agency(ies) or representative payor (except when 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 of understanding 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 to knowingly exercise his or her rights.
History of Section.
P.L. 1978, ch. 235, § 1.