SENATE BILL REPORT

                   SB 5590

              As Reported By Senate Committee On:

          Health & Long-Term Care, February 22, 1999

Title:  An act relating to which health professionals may sign a request to have oral medication administered by school employees.

Brief Description:  Expanding the health professionals who may request administration of oral medication at school.

Sponsors:  Senators Thibaudeau, Deccio, Wojahn and Winsley; by request of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Brief History:

Committee Activity:  Health & Long-Term Care:  2/8/99, 2/22/99 [DPS].

SENATE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH & LONG-TERM CARE

Majority Report:  That Substitute Senate Bill No. 5590 be substituted therefor, and the substitute bill do pass.

  Signed by Senators Thibaudeau, Chair; Wojahn, Vice Chair; Costa, Deccio, Franklin, Johnson and Winsley.

Staff:  Rhoda Jones (786-7198)

Background:  Public and private schools provide oral medications to students during the school day according to requirements set forth in federal and state law.

Schools administer oral medications to students upon the acquisition of such a request from parents, accompanied by instructions, with proper identification of the medication to be administered and a means for safekeeping the medication.

Under current state law, schools can only honor requests for oral medications if they come from a licensed physician or dentist.

There is an increasing number of school age children who receive prescriptions from physicians assistants and advanced registered nurse practitioners.  Current law does not allow for prescriptions written by these practitioners to be accepted in schools for the purposes of administering oral medications to students.

Summary of Substitute Bill:  Public and private schools may administer oral medications to students if the request for medication comes from any licensed health professional prescribing within the scope of their prescribing authority.

Substitute Bill Compared to Original Bill:  Language was added which extends immunity protection to schools providing oral medications from any licensed health professional prescribing within their prescribing authority.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Not requested.

Effective Date:  Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For:  Many children receive health care from a variety of practitioners, and their prescriptive authority needs to be recognized in schools.

Testimony Against:  None.

Testified:  PRO:  Joan Yoshitomi, OSPI; Judy Maine, OSPI; Jeff Larsen, WAPA, WANP; Charlene Fitzgerald.