MDNews - Greater Kansas

Late Summer 2011

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++++++++++++++++ +++ +++ ++++++++++++++++ LEGAL RX + + 2011 Legislative Update W By Cody G. Robertson ITH ALL THE brouhaha surrounding the state budget, the new administration's wholesale reorganization of state government, the passage of the federally-preempted-and-thus-wholly- symbolic Health Care Freedom Act and the like, you may not have heard that a number of substantial pieces of legislation affecting health care providers were also passed during this year's legislative session, albeit to little fanfare. Summaries of a few of those bills follow. House Bill 2182 — Concerning Mail Service Pharmacies Contrary to its somewhat misleading moniker, House Bill (HB) 2182 is actually a consolidation of a number of health care-related bills signed by the governor at the 11th hour of the legislative session. HB 2182 included the following: Technology and Exchange of Health Information (Introduced as Senate Bill 133) Perhaps the most substantive piece of health care-related legislation passed during the 2011 session, Senate Bill (SB) 133 created the Kansas Health Information Technology and Exchange (K-HITE) Act. The purpose of the K-HITE Act is to enable the creation of a statewide health information exchange through a fi ve-part strategy, which entails: (1) harmonizing Kansas law with HIPAA privacy rules and offering immunity from prosecution under Kansas l aw f o r the use or disclosure of protected health information to any covered entity that complies with those rules; (2) establishing statewide standards for participating health information organizations (HIOs); (3) providing individuals notice and opportunity to opt out of disclosures to a HIO; (4) adopting uniform rules regarding identifi cation of personal representatives for health-related matters; and (5) amending the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act to allow for electronic signatures on health records. Licensure and Education of Perfusionists (Introduced as SB 5) SB 5 creates the Perfusion Practice Act and establishes a Perfusion Council under the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts. The act also defi nes the activities performed by individuals in the practice of perfusion and establishes educational and licensure requirements for perfusionists. HB 2029 — Charitable Health Care Provider Defi ned to Include Ultrasound Technologist Signed by the governor March 25, 2011, this bill adds ultrasound technologists working under the supervision of a person licensed to practice medicine and surgery to the list of persons included in the definition of "charitable health care providers" for the purposes of the Kansas Tort Claims Act. The bill would require ultrasound technologists to be registered in any area of sonography credentialed through The American Registry of Radiology Technologists, the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography or Cardiovascular Credentialing International. Notably absent from the list of enrolled bills is the Kansas Adverse Medical Outcome Transparency Act. Introduced in slightly different form in both the House and the Senate, the so-called "I'm Sorry" law — which would make statements of apology or sympathy made by a provider inadmissible as evidence of liability in a malpractice proceeding — once again failed to become law this session. Both bills remain alive, however, and will almost certainly be revis- ited in both c h amb e r s in 2012. ■

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