Florida Senate - 2017                                    SB 1406
       
       
        
       By Senator Powell
       
       
       
       
       
       30-01468-17                                           20171406__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to stroke centers; amending s.
    3         395.3038, F.S.; directing the Agency for Health Care
    4         Administration to include hospitals that meet the
    5         criteria for acute stroke ready centers on a list of
    6         stroke centers; directing the agency to adopt rules
    7         governing such criteria and the development of certain
    8         electronic forms to provide reports to the Department
    9         of Health; creating s. 395.30381, F.S.; requiring
   10         stroke centers to provide certain information to the
   11         department; requiring the department to establish a
   12         statewide stroke registry; providing immunity from
   13         liability under certain circumstances; requiring the
   14         department to adopt rules; amending s. 395.3041, F.S.;
   15         conforming a provision and deleting obsolete dates;
   16         providing an effective date.
   17          
   18  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   19  
   20         Section 1. Section 395.3038, Florida Statutes, is amended
   21  to read:
   22         395.3038 State-listed primary stroke centers and
   23  comprehensive stroke centers; notification of hospitals.—
   24         (1) The agency shall make available on its website and to
   25  the department a list of the name and address of each hospital
   26  that meets the criteria for an acute stroke ready center, a
   27  primary stroke center, or and the name and address of each
   28  hospital that meets the criteria for a comprehensive stroke
   29  center. The list of primary and comprehensive stroke centers
   30  must include only those hospitals that attest in an affidavit
   31  submitted to the agency that the hospital meets the named
   32  criteria, or those hospitals that attest in an affidavit
   33  submitted to the agency that the hospital is certified as an
   34  acute stroke ready center, a primary stroke center, or a
   35  comprehensive stroke center by a nationally recognized an
   36  accrediting organization.
   37         (2)(a) If a hospital no longer chooses to meet the criteria
   38  for an acute stroke ready center, a primary stroke center, or a
   39  comprehensive stroke center, the hospital shall notify the
   40  agency and the agency shall immediately remove the hospital from
   41  the list of stroke centers.
   42         (b)1. This subsection does not apply if the hospital is
   43  unable to provide stroke treatment services for a period of time
   44  not to exceed 2 months. The hospital shall immediately notify
   45  all local emergency medical services providers when the
   46  temporary unavailability of stroke treatment services begins and
   47  when the services resume.
   48         2. If stroke treatment services are unavailable for more
   49  than 2 months, the agency shall remove the hospital from the
   50  list of primary or comprehensive stroke centers until the
   51  hospital notifies the agency that stroke treatment services have
   52  been resumed.
   53         (3) The agency shall adopt by rule criteria for an acute
   54  stroke ready center, a primary stroke center, and a
   55  comprehensive stroke center which are substantially similar to
   56  the certification standards for the same categories of primary
   57  stroke centers of a nationally recognized accrediting
   58  organization the Joint Commission.
   59         (4)The agency shall adopt by rule criteria for a
   60  comprehensive stroke center. However, if the Joint Commission
   61  establishes criteria for a comprehensive stroke center, agency
   62  rules shall be substantially similar.
   63         (4)(5) This act is not a medical practice guideline and may
   64  not be used to restrict the authority of a hospital to provide
   65  services for which it is licensed under chapter 395. The
   66  Legislature intends that all patients be treated individually
   67  based on each patient’s needs and circumstances.
   68         (5)The agency shall adopt by rule standardized electronic
   69  forms for each acute stroke ready center, primary stroke center,
   70  and comprehensive stroke center to report to the department such
   71  information as required in s. 395.30381.
   72         Section 2. Section 395.30381, Florida Statutes, is created
   73  to read:
   74         395.30381Statewide stroke registry.—
   75         (1)Each acute ready stroke center, primary stroke center,
   76  comprehensive stroke center, emergency medical service provider,
   77  and medical examiner shall submit to the department patient care
   78  quality assurance proceedings, records, or reports associated
   79  with any treatment or service provided to a person suffering a
   80  stroke. Such information shall be used to evaluate stroke care
   81  system effectiveness, ensure compliance with standards
   82  established pursuant to s. 395.3038, and monitor patient
   83  outcomes.
   84         (2)The department shall establish a statewide stroke
   85  registry to ensure that patient care quality assurance
   86  proceedings, records, and reports required to be submitted under
   87  subsection (1) are maintained and available for use to improve
   88  or modify the stroke care system, ensure compliance with
   89  standards, and monitor stroke patient outcomes. The department
   90  may contract with a private entity to establish and maintain the
   91  registry. No liability of any kind or character for damages or
   92  other relief shall arise or be enforced against any acute ready
   93  stroke center, primary stroke center, comprehensive stroke
   94  center, emergency medical service provider, or medical examiner
   95  by reason of having provided such information to the department.
   96         (3)The department shall adopt rules to administer this
   97  section.
   98         Section 3. Subsections (1), (2), and (4) of section
   99  395.3041, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
  100         395.3041 Emergency medical services providers; triage and
  101  transportation of stroke victims to a stroke center.—
  102         (1) By June 1 of each year, the department shall send the
  103  list of acute stroke ready centers, primary stroke centers, and
  104  comprehensive stroke centers to the medical director of each
  105  licensed emergency medical services provider in this state.
  106         (2) The department shall develop a sample stroke-triage
  107  assessment tool. The department must post this sample assessment
  108  tool on its website and provide a copy of the assessment tool to
  109  each licensed emergency medical services provider no later than
  110  June 1, 2005. Each licensed emergency medical services provider
  111  must use a stroke-triage assessment tool that is substantially
  112  similar to the sample stroke-triage assessment tool provided by
  113  the department.
  114         (4) Each emergency medical services provider licensed under
  115  chapter 401 must comply with all sections of this act by July 1,
  116  2005.
  117         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.