Part ofHealthcare →

The civic record

Read. Follow. Verify.

S 1594MASSACHUSETTSSession 194thState Billin committee

Massachusetts bill prohibits off-premises patient transfers for medication adjustments without consent

Original title: An Act to protect patients with Alzheimer's, dementia, and other psychiatric illnesses

Last action · December 4, 2025: Accompanied a study order, see S2790Sponsor: Patrick O'Connor

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓

Introduced

Committee

Floor Vote

Passed

Law

Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.

Public stanceCommunity reactions are separate from the official record and reporting.

What This Bill Would Do

Facilities are prohibited from transferring residents suffering from Alzheimer's, dementia, or other psychiatric illnesses for medication adjustments without approval from the patient, guardian, or legally responsible person.

Why it matters

The measure establishes new consent requirements for residential care and medical facilities regarding the off-site transport of vulnerable patients for psychiatric or cognitive medication changes.

Who It Would Affect

Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

Residents with Alzheimer's, dementia, or psychiatric illnesses

Patients suffering from these conditions gain protection requiring their or their representative's consent prior to any off-premises transfer for medication adjustments.

Directly affected

Facility operators

Facilities must obtain prior approval from patients, guardians, or legally responsible persons before transferring specified residents off-premises for medication changes.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who must approve an off-premises transfer for medication adjustments?

Approval must be given by the patient, their guardian, or the person legally responsible for the patient.

Which patients are covered by this restriction?

The restriction applies to residents suffering from Alzheimer's, dementia, or other psychiatric illnesses.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Follow the record

Votes, people, money & the original source

Where This Stands

Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.

Procedural history

4 actions

Dec 4, 2025Senate
Accompanied a study order, see S2790
Jun 6, 2025Joint
Hearing scheduled for 06/11/2025 from 09:00 AM-01:00 PM in A-1
Feb 27, 2025House
House concurred
Feb 27, 2025SenateCommittee
Referred to the committee on Public Health

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

View official text →

Lobbying Activity

No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.

Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

cross reference90% confidence

Study Order Companion

The bill accompanied a study order (S2790) as part of its legislative progress.

Patrick M. O'Connor

Connected Entities

Patrick O'Connor

PersonPatrick O'Connor“Primary sponsor of Senate Bill No. 1594”Map →

Sources

Open source document

malegislature.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance60
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy20
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment5
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz30
Current news / social attention level

Publisher tools