BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 464
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SENATE THIRD READING
SB
464 (Hernandez)
As Amended May 22, 2015
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 27-2
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Business & |14-0 |Bonilla, Jones, | |
|Professions | |Baker, Bloom, Campos, | |
| | |Chang, Dodd, Eggman, | |
| | |Gatto, Holden, | |
| | |Mullin, Ting, Wilk, | |
| | |Wood | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |15-1 |Gomez, Bigelow, |Gallagher |
| | |Bloom, Bonta, | |
| | |Calderon, Chang, | |
| | |Daly, Eggman, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Jones, Quirk, | |
| | |Rendon, Wagner, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
SB 464
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SUMMARY: Authorizes a physician, a registered nurse (RN), a
certified nurse-midwife (CNM), a nurse practitioner (NP), a
physician assistant (PA), or a pharmacist, in accordance with
existing law for each practitioner, to use a self-screening tool
that will identify patient risk factors for the use of
self-administered hormonal contraceptives by a patient, and,
after an appropriate prior examination, prescribe, furnish, or
dispense, as applicable, self-administered hormonal
contraceptives to the patient. Specifically, this bill:
1)Authorizes six types of healing arts licensees to use a
self-screening tool that will identify patient risk factors
for the use of self-administered hormonal contraceptives by a
patient, and, after an appropriate prior examination,
prescribe, furnish, or dispense, as applicable,
self-administered hormonal contraceptives to the patient.
2)Authorizes the patient to self-report blood pressure, weight,
height, and patient health history with the self-screening
tool that identifies patient risk factors.
3)This bill includes the following licensees:
a) Physician and surgeons;
b) RNs acting in accordance with Business and Professions
Code (BPC) Section 2725.2;
c) CNMs acting within the scope of BPC Section 2746.51;
d) NPs acting within the scope of BPC Section 2836.1;
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e) PAs acting within the scope of BPC Section 3502.1; and,
f) Pharmacists acting within the scope of BPC Section
4052.3.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill will have negligible costs to affected
professional licensing boards within the Department of Consumer
Affairs.
COMMENTS:
Purpose. This bill is sponsored by Planned Parenthood
Affiliates of California. According to the author, "In
California, about half of all pregnancies are unintended. Women
with unintended pregnancies are less likely to receive prenatal
care, and health outcomes are worse for both mother and baby.
According to a 2015 study by the Guttmacher Institute, the
annual public cost of unintended pregnancies in California is
more than $1.75 billion. Hormonal contraception has been proven
safe and effective at preventing pregnancy, and the American
College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recently recommended
that women should self-screen for contraindications using
checklists to increase their access to hormonal contraceptives.
Existing law is not clear as to whether self-screening tools can
be used to transmit relevant medical and family history
information from a patient to her provider for the purposes of
accessing hormonal contraception. Enabling the use of
self-screening tools will allow health care providers to make
greater use of existing and developing technology, and will
increase access to oral contraception for all women."
Background. Existing law already allows the six healing arts
licensees included in this bill to provide self-administered
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hormonal contraceptives to patients through varying mechanisms:
1)Physicians are required to perform an appropriate prior
examination.
2)PAs must be authorized by a supervising physician through a
delegation of services agreement and perform an appropriate
prior examination.
3)The NPs, CNMs, and RNs must follow Standardized Protocols and
Procedures (SPPs) developed with a supervising physician and
perform an appropriate prior examination.
4)Pharmacists must follow SPPs developed with an authorized
prescriber, which require a patient to use a self-screening
tool to screen for counter-indications, and must refer the
patient to a primary care provider or clinic after denial or
provision of the drug.
This bill simply clarifies that the practitioners may use a
self-screening tool that allows a patient to self-report
information.
Analysis Prepared by:
Vincent Chee / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301 FN:
0001300
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