BILL REQ. #:  S-1263.2 

READ FIRST TIME 02/04/09.   

     AN ACT Relating to health care professionals reporting violent injuries; adding a new section to chapter 18.73 RCW; and adding a new section to chapter 70.41 RCW.

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

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, upon a request from a federal, state, or local law enforcement authority as defined in RCW 70.02.010(3), the following health care information, if known, without the patient's authorization:
     (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 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 of the emergency medical technicians or first responders who provided care to the patient; and
     (ix) The name of the facility to which the patient is being transported for additional treatment.
     (2) An emergency medical technician or first responder or other individual who discloses information pursuant to this section is immune from liability for the disclosure, provided that the emergency medical technician or first responder or other individual acted in good faith and without gross or wanton negligence.
     (3) The obligation to provide information pursuant to this section shall be subordinate to patient care. Information shall be provided as soon as reasonably possible taking into consideration emergent patient 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 cause a report to be made to a local law enforcement agency as soon as reasonably possible taking into consideration a patient's emergency care needs when a hospital provides treatment for a bullet wound, gunshot wound, or stab wound to a patient who is unconscious.
     (2) The report shall include the following information, if known:
     (a) The name, address, 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 taken into possession by a law enforcement agency or the hospital's normal period for retention of such items expires, whichever occurs first.
     (5) Any person, entity, or hospital who in good faith, and absent gross or wanton negligence, makes a report required by this section, cooperates in an investigation or criminal or judicial proceeding related to such report, or who maintains bullets, clothing, or other foreign objects or provides such items to law enforcement 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 agency 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 shall not be 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 shall be secondary to patient care needs and may be delayed or compromised without penalty to the person, hospital, or entity required to fulfill the requirements of this section.