S-0674.1
SENATE BILL 5542
State of Washington | 66th Legislature | 2019 Regular Session |
BySenators Kuderer, Randall, Takko, Van De Wege, Dhingra, Saldaña, Keiser, Wellman, and Conway
Read first time 01/23/19.Referred to Committee on Health & Long Term Care.
AN ACT Relating to protecting patient care; adding a new section to chapter
43.70 RCW; and adding a new chapter to Title
70 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(1) "Department" means the department of health.
(2) "Health care entity" means an entity that supervises, controls, grants privileges to, directs the practice of, or directly or indirectly restricts the practice of, a health care provider.
(3) "Health care provider" has the same meaning as in RCW
70.02.010.
(4) "Medically accurate" means information that is verified or supported by research in compliance with scientific methods, is published in peer-reviewed journals, where appropriate, and is recognized as accurate and objective by professional organizations and agencies with expertise in the relevant field.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, if a health care provider is acting in good faith, within the provider's authorized scope of practice, and within the relevant standard of care, a health care entity may not:
(a) Limit the health care provider's provision of medically accurate and comprehensive information and resources to a patient regarding the patient's health status including, but not limited to, diagnosis, prognosis, recommended treatment, treatment alternatives, information about available services and where and how to obtain them, and any potential risks to the patient's health or life;
(b) Limit the health care provider's provision of information regarding Washington's death with dignity act, chapter
70.245 RCW;
(c) Prohibit the health care provider from providing health services in cases in which failure to provide the service would violate the accepted standard of care or when the patient presents a medical condition manifesting itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity such that the absence of immediate medical attention could reasonably be expected to pose an immediate or future serious risk:
(i) To the patient's life; or
(ii) Of irreversible complications or impairment to the patient's bodily functions or any bodily organ or part.
(2) Nothing in this section prohibits a health care entity from limiting a health care provider's practice for purposes of:
(a) Complying with the network or utilization review requirements of any program or entity authorized by state or federal law to provide insurance coverage for health care services to enrollees; or
(b) Quality control or patient safety.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A patient, a health care provider, or an individual, who is aggrieved by a violation of section 2 of this act, may bring a civil action against a health care entity to enjoin further violations, to recover damages, or both, and may recover costs and reasonable attorneys' fees.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A health care entity must provide the information prepared by the department under section 5 of this act at the time of hiring, contracting with, or privileging health care providers and staff, and on a yearly basis thereafter.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter
43.70 RCW to read as follows:
The department must design, prepare, and make available online, written materials to clearly inform health care providers and staff of the provisions of, and authority to act under, chapter 70.--- RCW (the new chapter created in section 6 of this act) and the federal emergency medical treatment and labor act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1395dd).
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. Sections 1 through 4 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 70 RCW. --- END ---