Bill No.: SF0113                  Drafter:  JWL

 

LSO No.:  05LSO-0543              Effective Date:  

 

Enrolled Act No.:  SEA0104

 

Chapter No.:       243

 

Prime Sponsor:     Senator Massie

 

Catch Title:       Medical safety event reporting.

 

Subject:  Requires health care facilities to report unexpected safety events.

 

Summary/Major Elements:

 

·         Defines "safety event" as an unexpected occurrence involving death or serious physical or psychological injury, or the risk thereof, in specific categories, including:

 

o        Surgical events;

o        Product or device events;

o        Patient protection events;

o        Care management events;

o        Environmental events;

o        Criminal events.

 

·         Requires every health care facility to designate a patient safety officer and requires employees of facilities to report safety events to the safety officer.

 

·         Requires every health care facility through its patient safety officer to report safety events to the department of health in a format specified by the department without identifying individual health care professionals, facility employees or patients.

 

·         Provides that reported information is confidential, not a public record and not discoverable or admissible in any administrative or legal proceeding.  However, information may still be subject to discovery from original sources other than the safety event program.

 

·         Requires the department of health to publish an annual report and analysis, without individual identifying information, of reported safety events.

 

·        Appropriates $34,000.00 in general funds and authorizes one full-time position to the Department of Health to implement the program, plus $100,000.00 one-time funds from the budget reserve to develop electronic reporting of medical safety events.