STAND. COM. REP. NO. 373

                                 Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                   , 1999

                                 RE: H.B. No. 895
                                     H.D. 1




Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 895
entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to ensure the timely transport
of seriously ill and injured persons to definitive medical
facilities by requiring the Department of Health (DOH) to:

     (1)  Integrate emergency aeromedical services (EAS) into
          statewide emergency medical services (EMS); and

     (2)  Establish an emergency aeromedical information system
          (information system) and quality improvement committee.

     DOH, the Hawaii County Fire Department, the Healthcare
Association of Hawaii, and one individual submitted testimony in
support of this measure.  One individual submitted testimony in
support of the intent of this measure.

     Your Committee finds that this measure will ensure that
Neighbor Island communities will not be placed at risk of
unnecessary death or disability due to system delays or
unavailable aeromedical services.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Authorizing instead of requiring DOH to integrate EAS
          into statewide EMS;

 
                                 STAND. COM. REP. NO. 373
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     (2)  Requiring DOH to support the interagency dispatch
          policy and procedures for aeromedical transports;

     (3)  Deleting the section requiring the counties to provide
          EAS;

     (4)  Removing the requirement that DOH administer an
          information system;

     (5)  Removing the requirement that the information system be
          used to develop EAS standards;

     (6)  Clarifying that the EAS will include factual data;

     (7)  Clarifying that the communication and dispatch
          component of the information system include
          notification to aeromedical dispatch;

     (8)  Removing the medical oversight by physicians component
          of the information system based on national standards;

     (9)  Simplifying the EAS licensing and standards component
          of the information system to only licensing;

    (10)  Clarifying that the EAS Quality Improvement Committee
          is an advisory committee;

    (11)  Simplifying the tasks of the advisory committee to only
          analyze information collected from the aeromedical
          quality improvement performance measures; and

    (12)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for
          purposes of clarity and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your
Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No.
895, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second
Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 895, H.D. 1, and
be referred to the Committee on Finance.


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                 STAND. COM. REP. NO. 373
                                 Page 3

 
                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Health,



                                   ______________________________
                                   ALEXANDER C. SANTIAGO, Chair