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 1797.119 is added to the Health and
2Safety Code, to read:
(a) (1) The authority shall develop a State
4Emergency Medical Services Data and Information System
5(SEMSDIS), and, after approval by the commission, adopt
6minimum standards for maintaining and implementing SEMSDIS.
7(2) SEMSDIS shall include, but not be limited to, data and
8information relating to prehospital care and specialty care.
9(3) The purpose of SEMSDIS shall be to determine and monitor
10the quality and effectiveness of the statewide emergency medical
11system.
12(4) The authority shall comply with this section on or before
13July 1, 2016.
14(b) Emergency medical services providers shall do all of the
15following concerning SEMSDIS:
16(1) Implement the electronic collection of prehospital care
17reports using standard procedures, definitions, and interoperable
18coding as adopted by the authority in the minimum standards
19described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a). For purposes of this
20paragraph, “prehospital care reports” include, but are not limited
21to, documentation of the event, incident, or medical condition
P3 1precipitating the need for emergency medical services, the
2treatment provided, and the patient’s medical history.
3(2) Transmit, at the scene of an emergency or during the
4transport of the patient to the destination hospital, patient health
5information, including, but not limited to, the patient’s approximate
6age, body type, and vital statistics, to the destination hospital.
7(3) Submit completed electronic patient care reports to the local
8EMS agency in a timely manner.
9(c) Hospitals receiving emergency medical services patients
10shall do both of the following concerning SEMSDIS:
11(1) Include local EMS agencies in health information exchange
12development with the objective of exchanging critical patient data
13with emergency medical services providers through an electronic
14interface with the hospital’s electronic health records.
15(2) Provide patient disposition information to the local EMS
16agency for the purpose of quality improvement. For purposes of
17this paragraph, “patient disposition information” includes, but is
18not limited to, the diagnosis of the patient’s condition and any
19treatment provided.
20(d) Local EMS agencies shall submit patient information to the
21authority in a timely manner, using national standards when
22available.
If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
24this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
25local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
26pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
274 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
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