Amended in Assembly March 23, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 503

Introduced by Assembly Member Rodriguez

February 23, 2015

An act to add Section 1797.122 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to emergency medical services.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 503, as amended, Rodriguez. Emergency medical services.

Existing law requires the Emergency Medical Services Authority to develop planning and implementation guidelines for emergency medical services (EMS) systems that address several components, including, but not limited to, manpower and training, communications, transportation, and assessment of hospitals and critical care centers.

This bill would authorize a health facility, as defined, to release patient-identifiable medical begin delete inform a prehospital emergency medical services end delete begin insert information to a defined EMS end insert provider begin insert , a local EMS agency, and the authority, end insert to the extent specific data elements are requested for quality assessment and improvement purposes. begin insert The bill would also require the authority to develop minimum standards for the implementation of this data collection. end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert It is the intent of the Legislature to encourage
data sharing between emergency medical services providers and
hospitals in order to improve system effectiveness, quality of care,
and the impact of emergency medical services on death and
disability. end insert

begin delete SECTION 1. end delete
begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

Section 1797.122 is added to the Health and Safety
Code, to read:

1797.122.  

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, a health facility
as defined in subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 1250 may begin delete , but is not
required to, end delete release patient-identifiable medical information under
the following circumstances:

(1) To begin delete a prehospital emergency medical services end delete begin insert an end insert begin insert EMS end insert
provider begin insert , end insert information regarding a patient who was begin insert treated, or end insert
transported to the hospital by begin insert , end insert that begin delete prehospital emergency medical
services end delete begin insert EMS end insert provider, to the extent that specific data elements
are requested for quality assessment and improvement purposes.

(2) To the begin delete Emergency Medical Services Authority end delete begin insert authority end insert or
the local begin delete emergency medical services end delete begin insert EMS end insert agency, to the extent
that specific data elements are requested for quality assessment
and improvement purposes.

(b)  begin delete Each prehospital emergency medical services provider and end delete
begin insert An EMS provider, end insert local begin delete emergency medical services end delete begin insert EMS end insert agency,
and the begin delete Emergency Medical Services Authority end delete begin insert authority end insert shall
request only those data elements that are minimally necessary in
compliance with Section 164.502 (b) and Section 164.514 (d) of
Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

begin insert

(c) The authority shall develop minimum standards for the
implementation of data collection for system operation, patient
outcome, and performance quality improvement.

end insert begin insert

(d) For purposes of this section, “EMS provider” means an
organization employing an Emergency Medical Technician-I,
Advanced Emergency Medical Technician, or Emergency Medical
Technician-Paramedic for the delivery of emergency medical care
to the sick and injured at the scene of an emergency, during
transport, or during an interfacility transfer.

end insert