1998 Legislation
Print Friendly

SENATE BILL NO. 1376 – Patient Freedom of Information Act

SENATE BILL NO. 1376

View Daily Data Tracking History

View Bill Text

View Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact



Text to be added within a bill has been marked with Bold and
Underline. Text to be removed has been marked with
Strikethrough and Italic. How these codes are actually displayed will
vary based on the browser software you are using.

This sentence is marked with bold and underline to show added text.

This sentence is marked with strikethrough and italic, indicating
text to be removed.

Daily Data Tracking History



S1376.................................................by HEALTH AND WELFARE
PATIENT FREEDOM OF INFORMATION - Adds to existing law to adopt a "Patient
Freedom of Information Act" to require disclosure of information about the
practice and history of physicians and surgeons, osteopathic physicians and
surgeons, physical therapists, dentists, podiatrists, chiropractors,
optometric physicians, psychologists, physicians assistants, nurse
practitioners and certified registered nurse anesthetists.

01/30    Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/02    Rpt prt - to Health/Wel
02/09    Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
02/10    2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
02/17    3rd rdg - PASSED - 31-2-2
      AYES--Andreason, Boatright, Branch, Bunderson, Burtenshaw, Cameron,
      Crow, Danielson, Darrington, Deide, Dunklin, Frasure, Geddes, Hansen,
      Hawkins, Ipsen, Keough, King, McLaughlin, Noh, Parry, Richardson,
      Riggs, Risch, Sandy, Schroeder, Stennett, Sweeney, Thorne, Twiggs,
      Wheeler
      NAYS--Lee, Whitworth
      Absent and excused--Ingram, Sorensen
    Floor Sponsors - Ipsen, Bunderson
    Title apvd - to House
02/18    House intro - 1st rdg - to Health/Wel
03/03    Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
03/04    2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/06    3rd rdg - PASSED - 63-3-4
      AYES -- Alltus, Barraclough, Barrett, Bell, Bieter, Bivens,
      Black(15), Black(23), Boe, Bruneel, Callister, Campbell, Chase,
      Crane, Crow, Deal, Denney, Ellsworth, Field(13), Field(20), Gagner,
      Gould, Hadley, Henbest, Hornbeck, Jaquet, Jones(9), Jones(22), Judd,
      Kellogg, Kempton, Kjellander, Kunz, Lake, Linford, Loertscher, Mader,
      Marley, McKague, Meyer, Miller, Mortensen, Newcomb, Pischner,
      Pomeroy, Reynolds, Richman, Ridinger, Robison, Sali, Schaefer,
      Stevenson, Stone, Stubbs, Taylor, Tilman, Tippets, Trail, Watson,
      Wheeler, Wood, Zimmermann, Mr Speaker
      NAYS -- Geddes, Kendell, Stoicheff
      Absent and excused -- Clark, Cuddy, Hansen, Jones(20)
    Floor Sponsors - Simpson, Reynolds
    Title apvd - to Senate
03/09    To enrol
03/10    Rpt enrol - Pres signed
03/10    Sp signed
03/11    To Governor
03/16    Governor signed
         Session Law Chapter 33
         Effective: 07/01/98

Bill Text


S1376


                                                                        
 ||||              LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO             ||||
Fifty-fourth Legislature                 Second Regular Session - 1998
                                                                        

                                      IN THE SENATE

                                   SENATE BILL NO. 1376

                             BY HEALTH AND WELFARE COMMITTEE

 1                                        AN ACT
 2    RELATING TO PATIENT FREEDOM OF INFORMATION; AMENDING TITLE 54, IDAHO CODE,  BY
 3        THE  ADDITION  OF  A  NEW  CHAPTER  45, TITLE 54, IDAHO CODE, TO ADOPT THE
 4        PATIENT FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT, TO PROVIDE A DECLARATION  OF  PURPOSE,
 5        TO  DEFINE  TERMS, TO REQUIRE PATIENT ACCESS TO SPECIFIED INFORMATION, AND
 6        TO PROVIDE FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND ACCESS TO PROVIDER PROFILE INFORMATION.

 7    Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:

 8        SECTION 1.  That Title 54, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby  amended
 9    by  the addition thereto of a  NEW CHAPTER , to be known and desig-
10    nated as Chapter 45, Title 54, Idaho Code, and to read as follows:

11                                      CHAPTER 45
12                            PATIENT FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

13        54-4501.  DECLARATION OF PURPOSE. In  recognition  of  the  importance  of
14    health  care  to  all Idahoans, it is the intent of the legislature to provide
15    patients with easily accessible profile information on specified  licensed  or
16    registered  health  care  professionals.  By creating a database of individual
17    profiles that the public may access,  patients  will  be  able  to  make  more
18    informed  decisions about whom they wish to engage when in need of health care
19    services. The database should include educational background and work history,
20    disclosure of any final board disciplinary actions, criminal convictions, mal-
21    practice history, and other pertinent information as required by this chapter.
22    The following licensed and registered professional health care  providers  are
23    subject  to  this  chapter: physicians and surgeons and osteopathic physicians
24    and surgeons, physical therapists, dentists, podiatrists, chiropractors, opto-
25    metric physicians, psychologists, physicians' assistants, nurse practitioners,
26    and certified registered nurse anesthetists.

27        54-4502.  DEFINITIONS. As used in this chapter, the following  terms  have
28    the following meaning:
29        (1)  "Board"  means  the  professional  licensing  and registration board,
30    respectively,  for each of the named providers.
31        (2)  "Patient" means all past, current or future consumers of health  care
32    services.
33        (3)  "Provider(s)" means the following licensed or registered professional
34    health  care  providers: podiatrists licensed pursuant to chapter 6, title 54,
35    Idaho Code; chiropractors licensed pursuant to  chapter  7,  title  54,  Idaho
36    Code;  dentists  licensed  pursuant  to chapter 9, title 54, Idaho Code; nurse
37    practitioners and certified registered nurse anesthetists licensed  or  regis-
38    tered  pursuant  to  chapter  14,  title 54, Idaho Code; optometric physicians
39    licensed pursuant to chapter 15, title 54, Idaho Code; physicians and surgeons
40    and osteopathic physicians and surgeons,  licensed  pursuant  to  chapter  18,
41    title  54,  Idaho  Code; physicians' assistants registered pursuant to chapter


                                          2

 1    18, title 54, Idaho Code; physical therapists registered pursuant  to  chapter
 2    22,  title  54, Idaho Code; and psychologists licensed pursuant to chapter 23,
 3    title 54, Idaho Code.

 4        54-4503.  PATIENT ACCESS TO PROVIDER  INFORMATION.  (1)  Each  person  who
 5    applies  for initial licensure or registration as a provider must, at the time
 6    of application, and each provider who  applies  for  license  or  registration
 7    renewal  must,  in  conjunction with the renewal of a license or registration,
 8    and under procedures which shall be adopted by the board, and in  addition  to
 9    any  other  information  that  may be required from the applicant, furnish the
10    following information to the board:
11        (a)  Names and addresses of medical/professional schools or other institu-
12        tions of higher learning that provider attended,  including  any  graduate
13        education, and dates of graduation;
14        (b)  Speciality certifications that are recognized by the board;
15        (c)  Appointments  to faculty of any medical/professional school and indi-
16        cation whether provider has had a responsibility  for  graduate  education
17        within the most recent ten (10) years (optional);
18        (d)  Location and type of practice for the most recent ten (10) years;
19        (e)  Current  location of provider's primary practice setting, and if more
20        than one (1) setting, the approximate percentage of  time  spent  at  each
21        location;
22        (f)  The  hospital(s)  that  serves  as  the  provider's primary admitting
23        facility and at which the provider has active clinical privileges in  good
24        standing;
25        (g)  Disclosure of whether the provider participates in medicaid and medi-
26        care  programs  (but  not necessarily accepting new patients), or has ever
27        been barred from participation in either program;
28        (h)  Disclosure of any translating services that may be available  at  the
29        provider's practice location(s) (optional);
30        (i)  Description  of any criminal convictions for felonies or other crimes
31        of moral turpitude within the most recent ten (10) years. For purposes  of
32        this  subsection, a person shall be deemed convicted of a crime if he pled
33        guilty or if he was found or adjudged  guilty  by  a  court  of  competent
34        jurisdiction;
35        (j)  Description  of  any final board disciplinary actions within the most
36        recent ten (10) years that are considered to be public in accordance  with
37        the provisions of chapter 3, title 9, Idaho Code;
38        (k)  Description  of  any  final  disciplinary actions by a board from any
39        other state including, but not limited to,  revocation  or  suspension  of
40        license, within the most recent ten (10) years;
41        (l)  Description  of  revocation  or  involuntary  restriction of hospital
42        privileges, or a reduction in credentialing  for  more  than  one  hundred
43        eighty  (180)  days,  from any state, for reasons related to competence or
44        character, that have been taken by a  hospital's  governing  body  or  any
45        other  official  of  a  hospital  after  procedural  due  process has been
46        afforded; or the resignation from or nonrenewal of a medical staff member-
47        ship, or the restriction of privileges at a hospital taken in lieu  of  or
48        in  settlement  of  a  pending  disciplinary case related to competence or
49        character in that hospital, within the most recent ten (10) years;
50        (m)  Whether the provider carries professional malpractice insurance,  and
51        if not, has ever been denied malpractice insurance;
52        (n)  Disclosure  of  all  malpractice  court judgments and all malpractice
53        arbitration awards in which a payment was awarded to a  complaining  party
54        during  the  most  recent ten (10) years. Pending malpractice claims shall


                                          3

 1        not be disclosed by the board to patients; however, nothing  herein  shall
 2        be  construed  to  prevent the board from investigating and disciplining a
 3        provider on the basis of pending malpractice claims.
 4        (o)  Disclosure of settlements of professional malpractice  claims  within
 5        the most recent five (5) years of continuous practice;
 6             (i)   Providers  need  only disclose malpractice settlements if there
 7             have been five (5) or more settlements in the most  recent  five  (5)
 8             years of continuous practice, of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), or
 9             more,  per  settlement, or if there have been more than ten (10) set-
10             tlements within the most recent five (5) years of continuous practice
11             of any dollar amount;
12             (ii)  Settlements that result solely in  an  adjustment  to  the  fee
13             charged  for a provider's services shall not be disclosed pursuant to
14             this chapter;
15             (iii) Information concerning all settlements shall be accompanied  by
16             the following statement: "Settlement of a claim may occur for a vari-
17             ety  of  reasons  which  do not necessarily reflect negatively on the
18             professional competence or conduct of a provider. A payment  in  set-
19             tlement  of  a malpractice action or claim should not be construed as
20             creating presumption that malpractice has occurred. Malpractice  his-
21             tories  tend to vary by speciality. Some specialities are more likely
22             than others to be the subject of litigation.";
23             (iv)  Nothing herein shall be construed to limit or prevent the board
24             from providing further explanatory information regarding settlements;
25        (p)  Percentage of ownership interest provider has in other health facili-
26        ties, laboratories, equipment or therapy, except for ownership interest in
27        the primary practice business, to which the provider's patients are,  have
28        been, or may be referred.
29        (2)  Each profile submitted by a provider must include a statement, signed
30    under  oath,  by the provider attesting to the correctness and completeness of
31    the information contained in the profile.
32        (3)  The board shall not be held liable for the correctness  or  complete-
33    ness  of the information contained in the provider profiles, and shall include
34    a disclaimer statement on  all  released  profiles,  attesting  to  the  self-
35    reporting  nature  of the program, and that the information has not been veri-
36    fied by the board.
37        (4)  The board shall, at the time of  issuing a new license  or  registra-
38    tion,  or  in  conjunction  with  license or registration renewal, collect and
39    maintain the information required in this chapter, as submitted  by  the  pro-
40    vider, for the purpose of creating individual profiles on providers that shall
41    be made available to the public as provided in this chapter.
42        (5)  No  state  law that would otherwise prohibit, limit, or penalize dis-
43    closure of information about a provider shall apply to disclosure of  informa-
44    tion required by this chapter.
45        (6)  If  a  provider  fails  to comply with the provisions of this chapter
46    with full and truthful disclosure of information to the board within the  time
47    specified by the board, the board may:
48        (a)  Fine  the provider up to fifty dollars ($50.00) for each day that the
49        provider is not in compliance with the provisions of this chapter;
50        (b)  Take any other disciplinary action it deems appropriate,  except  the
51        board  may  not  revoke,  suspend,  refuse  to  issue or refuse to renew a
52        provider's license or registration solely because the provider  failed  to
53        comply with the provisions of this chapter.

54        54-4504.  INFORMATION  AND  ACCESS  TO  PROVIDER  PROFILE INFORMATION. The


                                          4

 1    boards and providers subject to the provisions of this  chapter  shall  inform
 2    the  public that provider profile information is available and make the infor-
 3    mation available upon request.
 4        The boards and providers shall fully  implement  the  provisions  of  this
 5    chapter no later than January 1, 2000.
 6        The  boards and providers shall be responsible for promoting public aware-
 7    ness of and access to provider profiles as provided  in  this  chapter,  which
 8    shall  include  the creation of printed materials and signs to be available in
 9    board and provider offices. Profile information on individual providers  shall
10    be  available at the office(s) of the provider, and their respective board, in
11    written form, upon request, and electronically where available, and  shall  be
12    considered public information.

Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact


    





                           STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
    
                                 RS 07715
    
    The purpose of this bill is to provide health care consumers 
    with a reliable and easily accessible source of information 
    on specified Idaho health care providers. A patient's 
    selection of a health care provider is one of the more 
    important decisions they make when accessing health care 
    services. This legislation will allow patients to make more 
    informed health care decisions when selecting a provider, as 
    opposed to relying solely on the opinions of others or 
    simple random chance. The Patient Freedom of Information Act 
    would provide patients with the opportunity to review 
    professional profiles on health care providers while 
    evaluating their own personal experiences, priorities and 
    needs.
    
    The bill will require specified health care providers to 
    submit professional profiles, as detailed in the 
    legislation, at the time they apply for licensure in Idaho, 
    or make their application for license renewal. The 
    information would be collected and maintained by the 
    providers' respective licensing boards and would be made 
    available to consumers upon request.
    
                               FISCAL NOTE
    
    There will be no impact to the General Fund. Licensing fees 
    paid by the affected health care providers to their 
    respective state licensing boards will increase by 
    approximately 5 - 15%.
    
    CONTACT: Senator Grant R. Ipsen 332-1330
             Dawn Justice
             Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry
             343-1849
    
    STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE
    
    Bill No S1376