Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.C.R. No. 207 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this concurrent resolution is to request the Department of Health, with the assistance of the State Health Planning and Development Agency, to conduct a study regarding medical imaging for diagnosis in Hawaii. Moreover, the Director of Health is requested to submit a report of findings and recommendations, including necessary proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2004.

Your Committee finds that a 1999 Institute of Medicine report found that ninety-eight thousand deaths occur annually due to medical mistakes and that as many as twenty per cent of imaging studies contain a medical mistake. Moreover, medical imaging, such as X-rays, computed tomography imaging and magnetic resonance imaging scans have become widespread and said medical imaging has driven up the cost of health care tremendously and has put patients at a great risk of exposure to harmful radiation.

For the health and safety for the patients as well as health care personnel working with medical imaging equipment and to reduce unnecessary imaging and thus reduce health care cost; your Committee finds that a study by the Department of Health is warranted.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. No. 207 and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Finance.