BILL REQ. #:  H-4905.1 

Read first time 01/28/08.   Referred to Committee on Health Care & Wellness.

     AN ACT Relating to addressing shortages of health care specialists in rural areas; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature finds that:
     (a) A 1990 study of the shortage of trained health care specialists confirmed that there is a need for health care professionals with multiple skills in rural areas;
     (b) Low patient volumes in rural hospitals and primary care clinics continue to make it financially difficult to hire and retain separate individuals with skills from each of these health care specialist professions. The result is that patients continue to be forced to seek health care in urban areas because the care cannot be provided locally; and
     (c) Some limited cross-credentialing of health care specialists, including health care assistants, radiologic technologists, respiratory therapists, and pharmacy and laboratory technologists, without a reduction in the quality of health care provided by such individuals, continues to be desirable in rural areas where shortages in health care professionals exist. In addition, expansion of the health care services that may be delegated to these health care specialists also would increase access to health care in rural areas.
     (2) The department of health, in consultation with the board of health, the higher education coordinating board, representatives of rural hospitals and rural primary health care clinics, and other appropriate entities selected by the department of health, shall:
     (a) Update the study conducted by the department of health in 1990 on methods to create opportunities for developing a pool of individuals who are cross-trained in the specialty services provided by health care assistants, radiologic technologists, respiratory therapists, and pharmacy and laboratory technologists; and
     (b) Assess the potential for improving rural health care if additional authority is granted for licensed health care professionals to delegate the provision of health care services to health care specialists.
     (3) The department of health shall:
     (a) Assess the need in rural areas for health care specialists with multiple skills;
     (b) Assess the need in rural areas for licensed health care professionals to have additional authority to delegate the provision of health care services to health care specialists;
     (c) Determine the barriers to cross-credentialing health care specialists with multiple skills without reducing the quality of health care;
     (d) Examine current training, education, and state credentialing requirements for each of the affected professions;
     (e) Identify what training and educational requirements are needed to allow for the medical practice of individuals with multiple skills;
     (f) Develop recommendations on changes in current credentialing requirements to allow for credentialing of individuals with multiple skills; and
     (g) Develop recommendations on the rural areas of the state in which the practice of either cross-credentialed individuals or expansion of delegation authority, or both should be allowed.
     (4) The department of health shall report to the appropriate committees of the senate and house of representatives by December 1, 2008, on changes necessary in current credentialing requirements to accomplish its recommendations.