2017 -- S 0407 SUBSTITUTE A

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LC001309/SUB A

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2017

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY - THE RHODE ISLAND PATIENT SAFETY ACT

OF 2008

     

     Introduced By: Senators McCaffrey, Lombardi, Nesselbush, and Archambault

     Date Introduced: March 02, 2017

     Referred To: Senate Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Section 23-17.21-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 23-17.21 entitled "The

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Rhode Island Patient Safety Act of 2008" is hereby amended to read as follows:

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     23-17.21-4. Definitions.

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     For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

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     (a) "Department" means the Rhode Island department of health.

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     (b) "Director" means the director of the Rhode Island department of health.

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     (c) "Health care facility" means any corporation, limited liability company, facility, or

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institution licensed by this state to provide health care or professional services, or an officer,

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employee or agent thereof acting in the course and scope of his or her employment.

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     (d) "Near misses" means circumstances in which a patient safety event is narrowly

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averted.

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     (e) "Patient safety activities" means: (1) efforts to improve patient safety and the quality

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of health care delivery; (2) the collection and analysis of patient safety work product; (3) the

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development and dissemination of information with respect to improving patient safety, such as

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recommendations, protocols, or information regarding best practices; (4) the utilization of patient

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safety work product for the purposes of encouraging a culture of safety and of providing feedback

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and assistance to effectively minimize patient risk; (5) the maintenance of procedures to preserve

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confidentiality with respect to patient safety work product; and (6) the provision of appropriate

 

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security measures with respect to patient safety work product.

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     (f) "Patient safety event" means those events as defined by the national quality forum,

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institute of medicine, center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and as further defined

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by the quality of care advisory committee, as established herein, and shall include near misses.

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     (g) "Patient safety organization (PSO)" means any public or private organization certified

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by the director, or component of any such organization, whose activity is to improve patient

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safety and the quality of health care delivery for patients receiving care through the collection,

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aggregation, analysis, investigation, and/or processing of medical or health care related

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information submitted to it by reporting entities. A PSO shall not mean any agency or public

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body as defined in subsection 38-2-2(i).

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     (h) "Patient safety work product" means all reports, records, memoranda, analyses,

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statements, root cause analyses, or and written or oral statements, that: (1) a health care facility or

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provider prepares for the purpose of disclosing a patient safety event, or and is disclosed, to a

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patient safety organization; (2) is received from a reporting entity, and created or is and analyzed

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by a patient safety organization; or (3) directly or indirectly contains deliberations, analytical

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process, recommendations, conclusions, or other communications of a patient safety organization

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or and between a patient safety organization and health care providers or facilities.

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     (i) "Identifiable patient safety work product" means patient safety work product that: (1)

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is presented in a form and manner that allows the identification of any provider or reporting entity

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that is a subject of the work product, or any providers or reporting entities that participate in

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activities that are a subject of the work product; (2) constitutes individually identifiable health

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information as that term is defined in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of

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1996 and its implementing regulations (45 C.F.R. Parts 160-164); or (3) is presented in a form

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and manner that allows the identification of an individual.

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     (j) "Nonidentifiable patient safety work product" means patient safety work product that

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is not identifiable patient safety work product as defined in subsection (h) herein.

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     (k) "Reporting entities" means all hospitals, nursing facilities, and freestanding

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ambulatory surgical centers licensed under chapter 23-17.

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     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY - THE RHODE ISLAND PATIENT SAFETY ACT

OF 2008

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     This act would amend the definition of "patient safety work product" to include certain

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written or oral statements disclosed to a patient safety organization and analyzed by the same.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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