BILL NUMBER: AB 1621	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Members Lowenthal and Rodriguez

                        FEBRUARY 6, 2014

   An act to add Section 1797.119 to the Health and Safety Code,
relating to emergency medical services.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1621, as introduced, Lowenthal. Emergency medical services:
data and information system.
   Existing law, the Emergency Medical Services System and the
Prehospital Emergency Medical Care Personnel Act, governs local
emergency medical service systems. The act establishes the Emergency
Medical Services Authority, which is responsible for the coordination
and integration of all state agencies concerning emergency medical
services. Existing law also creates the Commission on Emergency
Medical Services, and requires the commission to perform various
duties regarding the authority and emergency medical services.
   Existing law requires the authority to develop planning and
implementation guidelines for emergency medical services systems that
address data collection and evaluation, among other things. Existing
law requires the commission to review and approve regulations,
standards, and guidelines developed by the authority.
   This bill would require the authority to develop and adopt minimum
standards for maintaining and implementing a State Emergency Medical
Services Data and Information System (SEMSDIS), which would include,
among other things, data and information relating to prehospital
care and specialty care, for purposes of determining and monitoring
the quality and effectiveness of the statewide emergency medical
system. The bill would require emergency medical services providers
and hospitals that receive emergency medical services patients to
perform specified tasks concerning SEMSDIS. The bill would require
the authority to comply with its provisions on or before January 1,
2016.
   The bill would also require local EMS agencies to submit specified
information to the authority. By imposing new duties on local
officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
   The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 1797.119 is added to the Health and Safety
Code, to read:
   1797.119.  (a) (1) The authority shall develop a State Emergency
Medical Services Data and Information System (SEMSDIS), and, after
approval by the commission, adopt minimum standards for maintaining
and implementing SEMSDIS.
   (2) SEMSDIS shall include, but not be limited to, data and
information relating to prehospital care and specialty care.
   (3) The purpose of SEMSDIS shall be to determine and monitor the
quality and effectiveness of the statewide emergency medical system.
   (4) The authority shall comply with this section on or before July
1, 2016.
   (b) Emergency medical services providers shall do all of the
following concerning SEMSDIS:
   (1) Implement the electronic collection of prehospital care
reports using standard procedures, definitions, and interoperable
coding as adopted by the authority in the minimum standards described
in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a). For purposes of this paragraph,
"prehospital care reports" include, but are not limited to,
documentation of the event, incident, or medical condition
precipitating the need for emergency medical services, the treatment
provided, and the patient's medical history.
   (2) Transmit, at the scene of an emergency or during the transport
of the patient to the destination hospital, patient health
information, including, but not limited to, the patient's approximate
age, body type, and vital statistics, to the destination hospital.
   (3) Submit completed electronic patient care reports to the local
EMS agency in a timely manner.
   (c) Hospitals receiving emergency medical services patients shall
do both of the following concerning SEMSDIS:
   (1) Include local EMS agencies in health information exchange
development with the objective of exchanging critical patient data
with emergency medical services providers through an electronic
interface with the hospital's electronic health records.
   (2) Provide patient disposition information to the local EMS
agency for the purpose of quality improvement. For purposes of this
paragraph, "patient disposition information" includes, but is not
limited to, the diagnosis of the patient's condition and any
treatment provided.
   (d) Local EMS agencies shall submit patient information to the
authority in a timely manner, using national standards when
available.
  SEC. 2.  If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.