SSB 5056 -
By Committee on Health Care & Wellness
ADOPTED 04/07/2009
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 A new section is added to chapter 18.73 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) Except when treatment is provided in a hospital licensed under
chapter 70.41 RCW, a physician's trained emergency medical service
intermediate life support technician and paramedic, emergency medical
technician, or first responder who renders treatment to a patient for
(a) a bullet wound, gunshot wound, powder burn, or other injury arising
from or caused by the discharge of a firearm; (b) an injury caused by
a knife, an ice pick, or any other sharp or pointed instrument which
federal, state, or local law enforcement authorities reasonably believe
to have been intentionally inflicted upon a person; (c) a blunt force
injury that federal, state, or local law enforcement authorities
reasonably believe resulted from a criminal act; or (d) injuries
sustained in an automobile collision, shall disclose without the
patient's authorization, upon a request from a federal, state, or local
law enforcement authority as defined in RCW 70.02.010(3), the following
information, if known:
(i) The name of the patient;
(ii) The patient's residence;
(iii) The patient's sex;
(iv) The patient's age;
(v) The patient's condition or extent and location of injuries as
determined by the physician's trained emergency medical service
intermediate life support technician and paramedic, emergency medical
technician, or first responder;
(vi) Whether the patient was conscious when contacted;
(vii) Whether the patient appears to have consumed alcohol or
appears to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs;
(viii) The name or names of the physician's trained emergency
medical service intermediate life support technician and paramedic,
emergency medical technician, or first responder who provided treatment
to the patient; and
(ix) The name of the facility to which the patient is being
transported for additional treatment.
(2) A physician's trained emergency medical service intermediate
life support technician and paramedic, emergency medical technician,
first responder, or other individual who discloses information pursuant
to this section is immune from civil or criminal liability or
professional licensure action for the disclosure, provided that the
physician's trained emergency medical service intermediate life support
technician and paramedic, emergency medical technician, first
responder, or other individual acted in good faith and without gross
negligence or willful or wanton misconduct.
(3) The obligation to provide information pursuant to this section
is secondary to patient care needs. Information must be provided as
soon as reasonably possible taking into consideration a patient's
emergency care needs.
(4) For purposes of this section, "a physician's trained emergency
medical service intermediate life support technician and paramedic" has
the same meaning as in RCW 18.71.200.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 A new section is added to chapter 70.41 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) A hospital shall report to a local law enforcement authority as
soon as reasonably possible, taking into consideration a patient's
emergency care needs, when the hospital provides treatment for a bullet
wound, gunshot wound, or stab wound to a patient who is unconscious.
A hospital shall establish a written policy to identify the person or
persons responsible for making the report.
(2) The report required under subsection (1) of this section must
include the following information, if known:
(a) The name, residence, sex, and age of the patient;
(b) Whether the patient has received a bullet wound, gunshot wound,
or stab wound; and
(c) The name of the health care provider providing treatment for
the bullet wound, gunshot wound, or stab wound.
(3) Nothing in this section shall limit a person's duty to report
under RCW 26.44.030 or 74.34.035.
(4) Any bullets, clothing, or other foreign objects that are
removed from a patient for whom a hospital is required to make a report
pursuant to subsection (1) of this section shall be preserved and kept
in custody in such a way that the identity and integrity thereof are
reasonably maintained until the bullets, clothing, or other foreign
objects are taken into possession by a law enforcement authority or the
hospital's normal period for retention of such items expires, whichever
occurs first.
(5) Any hospital or person who in good faith, and without gross
negligence or willful or wanton misconduct, makes a report required by
this section, cooperates in an investigation or criminal or judicial
proceeding related to such report, or maintains bullets, clothing, or
other foreign objects, or provides such items to a law enforcement
authority as described in subsection (4) of this section, is immune
from civil or criminal liability or professional licensure action
arising out of or related to the report and its contents or the absence
of information in the report, cooperation in an investigation or
criminal or judicial proceeding, and the maintenance or provision to a
law enforcement authority of bullets, clothing, or other foreign
objects under subsection (4) of this section.
(6) The physician-patient privilege described in RCW 5.60.060(4),
the registered nurse-patient privilege described in RCW 5.62.020, and
any other health care provider-patient privilege created or recognized
by law are not a basis for excluding as evidence in any criminal
proceeding any report, or information contained in a report made under
this section.
(7) All reporting, preservation, or other requirements of this
section are secondary to patient care needs and may be delayed or
compromised without penalty to the hospital or person required to
fulfill the requirements of this section."
Correct the title.
EFFECT: The amendment (1) adds that a hospital must establish a written policy to identify the person or persons responsible for making the report to the local law enforcement authority and (2) makes various clarifying and technical changes to make the language more consistent throughout the bill.