STAND. COM. REP. NO.  333

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2011

RE:   H.B. No. 597

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 597 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH CARE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to improve the quality of health care by expanding the privacy protections provided to quality assurance committees as they monitor and evaluate patient care in an effort to reduce risk of harm to patients by expanding the definition of "quality assurance committees" to include interdisciplinary committees established by the boards of trustees or administrative staff of various health care organizations with the same quality assurance functions as outlined in current law for quality assurance committees.

     The Hawaii Medical Service Association, the Healthcare Association of Hawaii, and The Queen's Medical Center supported this bill.

     Your Committee feels that this expansion of quality assurance functions will continue to encourage robust discussion about health care, leading to changes in policies, procedures, and practices.  Without these protections, the discussions would be limited and this avenue of improving health care would be more difficult.

     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. 597 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

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

____________________________

RYAN I. YAMANE, Chair