Illinois Code § 50-75

§ 50-75.

Nursing delegation by a registered professional nurse. (a) For the purposes of this Section: "Delegation" means transferring to a specific individual the authority to perform a specific nursing intervention in a specific situation. "Predictability of outcomes" means that a registered professional nurse or advanced practice registered nurse has determined that the patient's or individual's clinical status is stable and expected to improve or the patient's or individual's deteriorating condition is expected to follow a known or expected course. "Stability" means a registered professional nurse or advanced practice registered nurse has determined that the individual's clinical status and nursing care needs are consistent. (b) This Section authorizes a registered professional nurse to: (1) delegate nursing interventions to other registered professional nurses, licensed practical nurses, and other unlicensed personnel based on the comprehensive nursing assessment that includes, but is not limited to: (A) the stability and condition of the patient; (B) the potential for harm; (C) the complexity of the nursing intervention to be delegated; (D) the predictability of outcomes; and (E) competency of the individual to whom the nursing intervention is delegated; (2) delegate medication administration to other licensed nurses; (3) in community-based or in-home care settings, delegate the administration of medication (limited to oral or subcutaneous dosage and topical or transdermal application) to unlicensed personnel, if all the conditions for delegation set forth in this Section are met; (4) refuse to delegate, stop, or rescind a previously authorized delegation; or (5) in community-based or in-home care settings, delegate, guide, and evaluate the implementation of nursing interventions as a component of patient care coordination after completion of the comprehensive patient assessment based on analysis of the comprehensive nursing assessment data; care coordination in in-home care and school settings may occur in person, by telecommunication, or by electronic communication. (c) This Section prohibits the following: (1) An individual or entity from mandating that a registered professional nurse delegate nursing interventions if the registered professional nurse determines it is inappropriate to do so. Nurses shall not be subject to disciplinary or any other adverse action for refusing to delegate a nursing intervention based on patient safety. (2) The delegation of medication administration to unlicensed personnel in any institutional or long-term facility, including, but not limited to, those facilities licensed by the Hospital Licensing Act, the University of Illinois Hospital Act, State-operated mental health hospitals, or State-operated developmental centers, except as authorized under Article 80 of this Act or otherwise specifically authorized by law. (3) A registered professional nurse from delegating nursing judgment, the comprehensive patient assessment, the development of a plan of care, and the evaluation of care to licensed or unlicensed personnel. (4) A licensed practical nurse or unlicensed personnel who has been delegated a nursing intervention from re-delegating a nursing intervention. (Source: P.A. 100-513, eff. 1-1-18; 100-1160, eff. 6-1-19.)