BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1311
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Date of Hearing: July 2, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
SB 1311 (Hill) - As Amended: June 26, 2014
Policy Committee: HealthVote:17-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires general acute care hospitals to implement an
antimicrobial stewardship policy that meets specified criteria,
and to report to the Legislature by January 1, 2018 on hospital
compliance with the requirement.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)One-time costs of approximately $50,000, likely in 2017, to
aggregate data collected through enforcement and prepare a
report on compliance (Licensing and Certification Fund).
2)Minor and absorbable ongoing costs to the Department of Public
Health to oversee compliance among licensed hospitals
(Licensing and Certification Fund).
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . This bill is intended to strengthen requirements
related to antimicrobial stewardship in hospitals. The author
states although current law requires hospitals to develop a
process for evaluating the judicious use of antibiotics, only
half of all hospitals have done so.
2)Background . Antibiotics are credited with significantly
reducing morbidity and mortality associated with bacterial
infections. Unfortunately, widespread use of antibiotics has
led to antibiotic resistance, which, according to the World
Health Organization (WHO), is an increasingly serious threat
to global public health. The WHO indicates evolution of
drug-resistant strains is a natural phenomenon, but the use
and misuse of antibiotics accelerates their emergence.
SB 1311
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Drug-resistant infections are often difficult to treat and can
be deadly. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) indicates at least 2 million people become infected with
resistant bacteria nationwide, and at least 23,000 people die
as a direct result of these infections, each year.
Hospital antibiotic stewardship programs are designed to
promote and measure the appropriate use of antibiotics in a
hospital setting, and are recommended by WHO, CDC, and DPH.
DPH provides technical assistance to hospitals and other
facilities to implement local antimicrobial stewardship
programs as part of their Healthcare Acquired Infections
program, and collects data on these programs that are
submitted on a voluntary basis.
3)Related Legislation .
a) AB 1437 (Mullin) bans the sale, in California, of a
livestock or poultry product if the animal was given a
medically important antimicrobial for nontherapeutic use.
AB 1437 did not move out of the Assembly Agriculture
Committee.
b) SB 835 (Hill), also being heard today in this committee,
codifies the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Guidance
for Industry #213, requiring the Secretary (Secretary) of
the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to
refuse to register a drug administered in the feed or
drinking water of food animals if that drug is a medically
important antimicrobial drug.
Analysis Prepared by : Lisa Murawski / APPR. / (916) 319-2081