Chapter 114
2011 -- H 6213
Enacted 06/28/11
A N A C T
RELATING TO
HEALTH AND SAFETY -- HOSPITAL DISCHARGE PLANNING REQUIREMENTS
Introduced By: Representative Joseph M. McNamara
Date Introduced: June 01, 2011
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Title 23 of the General Laws entitled
"HEALTH AND SAFETY" is hereby
amended by adding thereto the following chapter:
CHAPTER
17.26
COMPREHENSIVE
DISCHARGE PLANNING
23-17.26-1.
Findings. – The general assembly hereby finds
and declares that:
(1) According to data
provided by the department of health; in 2009, over 1 in five (5)
adults discharged from acute care hospitals in
days;
(2) During that same
period, the readmission rate for adults over the age of sixty-five (65)
rose to almost thirty percent (30%);
(3) The issue of
hospital readmissions has emerged nationally as a critical focal point for
improving quality, ensuring patient safety, and controlling
excessive costs;
(4) Locally, high hospital readmission rates are often due to:
missing or incorrect
information regarding patients; ill-timed information transfer;
medication errors or poor
compliance; lack of outpatient follow-up; or lack of follow-up
by patients when their symptoms
worsen;
(5) Evidence-based
interventions can improve communications systems and patient
activation, thus addressing the root causes of hospital
readmissions and reducing rates;
(6) Encouraging best
practices in patient discharge and transitions out of hospitals offers
significant potential for improving patient care and containing
healthcare costs in
and,
(7) The State of
made significant gains in fostering care coordination and improving
quality of care.
23-17.26-2.
Definitions. – As used in this chapter:
(1) “Director” means
the director of department of health.
(2) “Department”
means the department of health.
(3) “Hospital” means
a person or governmental entity licensed in accordance with chapter
17 of this title to establish,
maintain and operate a hospital.
23-17.26-3.
Comprehensive discharge planning. – (a) On or
before July 1, 2015, each
hospital operating in the State of
(1) Evidence of
participation in a high-quality comprehensive discharge planning and
transitions improvement project operated by a nonprofit
organization in this state; or
(2) A plan for the
provision of comprehensive discharge planning and information to be
shared with patients transitioning from the hospitals care.
Such plan shall contain the adoption of
evidence-based practices including, but not limited to:
(i)
Providing in-hospital education prior to discharge;
(ii)
Ensuring patient involvement such that, at discharge, patients, and caregivers
understand the patient’s conditions and medications and have a
point of contact for follow-up
questions;
(iii) Attempting to
identify patients’ primary care providers and assisting with scheduling
post-hospital follow-up appointments prior to patient discharge;
(iv)
Expanding the transmission of the department of health’s
continuity of care form, or
successor program, to include primary care providers’ receipt
of information at patient discharge
when the primary care provider is identified by the
patient; and
(v) Coordinating and
improving communication with outpatient providers.
23-17.26-4.
Severability. – If any provision of this
chapter, or the application thereof to
any person or circumstances shall be held invalid, any
invalidity shall not affect the provisions or
application of this chapter which can be given effect without the
invalid provision or application,
and to this end the provisions of the chapter are
declared to be severable.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
=======
LC02752
=======