SB 1264 -Under this act, all licensed hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers must submit reports of serious events and incidents to a Patient Safety Authority, which is created under the act. The authority will analyze the collected data to identify trends and recommend changes in healthcare practices and procedures that may be instituted to reduce the number and severity of future serious events and incidents. In addition, the authority will provide individual facilities with detailed reports analyzing data related to their specific facilities or to certain geographic regions and the state as a whole. A health care worker may file an anonymous report regarding a serious event with the authority. Upon receipt of the report, the authority shall give notice to the affected medical facility that a report has been filed. The authority shall conduct its own review of the report unless the medical facility has already commenced an investigation of the serious event. The medical facility shall provide the authority with the results of its investigation no later than thirty days after receiving notice. If the authority is dissatisfied with the adequacy of the investigation conducted by the medical facility, the authority shall perform its own review of the serious event and may refer a medical facility and any involved license to the department for failure to report under the provisions of the act.
The authority shall report annually to the Department of Health and Senior Services and the General Assembly on, among other things, the number of serious events and incidents reported by medical facilities on a geographical basis, the information derived from the data, the number of anonymous reports and reviews conducted. The report shall be posted on the Department's Internet website. The Department shall also receive reports of and investigate serious events and infrastructure failures.
This act also establishes a Patient Safety Trust Fund to be administered by the authority. Beginning December 31, 2008, each medical facility shall pay the Department a surcharge on its licensing fee as necessary to operate the authority. The total assessment for all medical facilities shall not exceed five million dollars.
A medical facility shall develop, implement and comply with an internal patient safety plan that will designate a patient safety officer and a patient safety committee. Such plan shall establish a system for health care workers to report serious events or incidents and shall provide for written notification to patients. A health care worker shall report a serious event or incident no later than twenty-four hours after the occurrence or discovery of the event. A health care worker who reports the occurrence shall not be subject to any retaliatory action for reporting the event and shall be entitled to certain protections, as described under the act.
This act also provides that such documents, materials or information prepared solely for the purpose of compliance with the provisions of the act shall be made confidential. The act prescribes the circumstances for the confidentiality of the documents. Any documents, materials, records or information that would otherwise be available from original sources shall not be considered immune from discovery or use in any civil or administrative action or proceeding merely because they were presented to the patient safety committee of a medical facility.
ADRIANE CROUSE