BILL NUMBER: AB 386 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 31, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Galgiani
FEBRUARY 14, 2011
An act relating to telemedicine. An act to
add Section 5023.3 to the Penal Code, relating to prisoners.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 386, as amended, Galgiani. Telemedicine
Prisons: telemedicine systems .
Existing law, the Telemedicine Development Act of 1996, regulates
the practice of telemedicine, defined as the practice of health care
delivery, diagnosis, consultation, treatment, transfer of medical
data, and education using interactive audio, video, or data
communications, by a health care practitioner, as defined. Existing
law establishes that it is the intent of the Legislature that the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation operate in the most
cost-effective and efficient manner possible when purchasing health
care services for inmates.
This bill would state the Legislature's findings and declarations
on the use of telemedicine in the state's prisons. This bill would
require the department, by January 1, 2013, to include protocols
within its existing guidelines for determining when telemedicine
services are appropriate, and would require the department to require
an operational telemedicine services program at all adult
institutions by January 1, 2016. The bill would require the
department to schedule a patient for an evaluation with a distant
physician when it is determined to be medically necessary, and would
allow the department to use telemedicine only when it is in the best
interest of the health and safety of the inmate patient. The bill
would require the department to ensure that telemedicine shall not be
used to supplant civil service physicians and dentists, and also to
permit the department to contract with San Joaquin General Hospital
for telemedicine services.
The bill would require the department to report to the
Legislature, as provided, by March 1, 2013, and every year
thereafter, regarding the department's implementation of statewide
telemedicine services. This bill would render this reporting
requirement inoperative on March 1, 2018.
Existing law provides that it is the intent of the Legislature to
recognize the practice of telemedicine as a legitimate means by which
an individual may receive medical services from a health care
provider without person-to-person contact with the provider. Existing
law defines telemedicine as the practice of health care delivery,
diagnosis, consultation, treatment, transfer of medical data, and
education using interactive audio, video, or data communications.
Existing law sets forth procedures a health care practitioner must
follow prior to providing health care through telemedicine.
This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation that would encourage and streamline the state's
telemedicine efforts.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all
of the following:
(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to require the Department
of Corrections and Rehabilitation to implement and maintain the use
of telemedicine in state prisons.
(b) Telemedicine improves inmates' access to health care by
enabling correctional systems to expand their provider network to
include physicians located outside the immediate vicinity of prisons,
particularly for inmates housed in remote areas of the state with
shortages of health care.
(c) The department's prison telemedicine program began in 1997 as
a pilot project for mental health inmates at Pelican Bay State Prison
and was successful at improving inmates' access to mental health
care. Accordingly, the department decided to expand the program to
provide mental health as well as medical specialty services at other
prisons. Currently, all of the state prisons are equipped to provide
basic telemedicine services.
SEC. 2. Section 5023.3 is added to the
Penal Code , to read:
5023.3. (a) In order to maximize the benefits that come with the
use of telemedicine in the state's prisons, the department shall do
all of the following:
(1) By January 1, 2013, include within the department's existing
guidelines protocols for determining when telemedicine services are
medically appropriate and in the best interest of the health and
safety of the inmate patient.
(2) Require, by January 1, 2016, an operational telemedicine
services program at all adult institutions within the department. The
program shall include all of the following:
(A) Specific goals and objectives for maintaining and expanding
services and encounters provided by the telemedicine services
program, including store and forward telemedicine technology.
(B) An information technology support infrastructure that will
allow telemedicine to be used at each adult prison.
(C) Specific guidelines for determining when and where
telemedicine would be the preferred delivery method for health care.
(D) Guidelines and protocols for appropriate use and expansion of
store and forward telemedicine technology in state prisons. For
purposes of this section, "store and forward telemedicine" means the
transmission of medical information to be reviewed at a later time
and at a distant site by a physician without the patient being
present.
(3) Schedule a patient for evaluation with a distant physician via
telemedicine if and when it is determined that it is medically
necessary.
(4) Utilize telemedicine only when it is in the best interest of
the health and safety of the inmate patient.
(5) Ensure that telemedicine shall not be used to supplant civil
service physician and dental positions.
(b) The department is authorized to contract with the San Joaquin
General Hospital for telemedicine services.
(c) (1) On March 1, 2013, and each March 1 thereafter, the
department shall report all of the following to the Joint Legislative
Budget Committee, the Assembly Committee on Appropriations, the
Assembly Committee on Budget, the Assembly Committee on Health, the
Assembly Committee on Public Safety, the Senate Committee on
Appropriations, the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, the
Senate Committee on Health, and the Senate Committee on Public
Safety:
(A) The extent to which the department achieved the objectives set
forth in this section, as well as the most significant reasons for
achieving or not achieving those objectives.
(B) The extent to which the department is operating a statewide
telemedicine services program, as set forth in this section, that
provides telemedicine services to every adult prison within the
department, as well as the most significant reasons for achieving or
not achieving those objectives.
(C) A description of planned and implemented initiatives necessary
to accomplish the next 12 months' objectives for achieving the goals
set forth in this section.
(2) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under this
subdivision is inoperative on March 1, 2018, pursuant to Section
10231.5 of the Government Code.
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature
to enact legislation that would encourage and streamline the state's
telemedicine efforts.