Requires Department of Health to: (1) Gather mortality rates of individuals who die as a result of an infection acquired during medical treatment or care at a health care facility; and (2) Make such information available to the public.

A BILL FOR AN ACT

SECTION 1. Chapter 324, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new part to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"Part . HEALTH CARE FACILITY INFECTION and mortality RATES

§324-A Sources of information protected. Any person or social or educational agency may provide to the department of health, information, interviews, reports, statements, memoranda, or other data or relevant material relating to the mortality rates of individuals who die as a result of an infection acquired during medical treatment or care at a health care facility.

Not less than four times per year, health care facilities shall submit to the department of health a report of all persons who die as a result of an infection acquired during medical treatment or care at the health care facility.

No liability of any kind or character for damages or other relief shall arise or be enforced against any person or organization by reason of having provided the information or material, or by reason of having released or published the findings, conclusions, and summaries of the researchers to advance medical research, medical education, education of the public, and medical care.

§324-B Confidentiality; restrictions. (a) The material collected under this part shall be used or published for the purpose of advancing medical research, medical education, education of the public, and medical care.

(b) The identity, or any group of facts which tends to lead to the identity, of any person whose condition has been studied shall be confidential and shall not be revealed in any report or any other matter prepared, released, or published. Researchers may, however, use the names of persons when requesting additional information for research studies approved by the department of health for the purposes of this part.

(c) The use of additional information obtained by researchers shall also be governed by subsection (a) and, in addition, the researcher shall first obtain the approval of the patient's immediate family or attending physician, in that order of priority.

§324-C Availability of information to the public. (a) The department of health shall make available to the public the information collected from health care facilities relating to the mortality rates of individuals who die as a result of an infection acquired during medical treatment or care at a health care facility.

(b) Among other means of making public the information collected under subsection (a), the department of health shall regularly post and update the information on its website.

§324-D Definitions. For the purposes of this part, "health care facility" includes any program, institution, place, building, or agency, or portion thereof, private or public, whether organized for profit or not, that is used, operated, or designed to provide medical diagnosis, treatment, or rehabilitative or preventive care to any person. The term includes health care facilities that are commonly referred to as hospitals, emergency care facilities and centers, health maintenance organizations, and others providing similarly organized services regardless of nomenclature.

SECTION 2. In codifying the new sections added by section 1 of this Act, the revisor of statutes shall substitute appropriate numbers for the letters used in designating the new sections in this Act.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.