STAND. COM. REP. NO.  574

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2011

RE:   H.B. No. 889

      H.D. 2

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 889, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to protect consumers of hospital services from health care-associated infections by establishing reporting requirements for certain Hawaii health care facilities.  Among other things, this measure:

     (1)  Requires each health care facility certified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to report on health care-associated infections to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Healthcare Safety Network (Network);

     (2)  Requires health care facilities to authorize CDC to provide access to Network data reported by those facilities to the State Department of Health (DOH);

     (3)  Requires DOH to maintain and preserve patient confidentiality;

     (4)  Allows DOH to issue reports to the public about health care-associated infections under certain conditions; and

     (5)  Requires DOH to prepare an annual public report on health care-associated infections for the previous calendar year beginning in 2013.

     DOH and the Healthcare Association of Hawaii (HAH) testified in support of this bill.  APIC-Hawaii provided comments.

     Your Committee notes this bill reflects the combined efforts of DOH and HAH to provide language to address health care-associated infections.  Thus, your Committee finds this measure requires further consideration and discussion.

     Your Committee has amended this bill to reflect the work of DOH and health care facilities for federal reporting of health care-associated infections and by:

     (1)  Changing its effective date to January 7, 2059, to encourage further discussion; and

     (2)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 889, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 889, H.D. 2.

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

____________________________

GILBERT KEITH-AGARAN, Chair