SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. SB 316

    Amendment No. 1

                            CHAMBER ACTION
              Senate                               House
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11  The Committee on Governmental Reform and Oversight recommended

12  the following amendment:

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14         Senate Amendment 

15         On page 2, lines 7-15, delete those lines

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17  and insert:

18         Section 2.  The Legislature finds that the exemption

19  from public disclosure provided for in section 1 of this act

20  is a public necessity because it would be an invasion of a

21  patient's privacy for such personal, sensitive information

22  contained in the notification of an adverse incident to be

23  publicly available. Furthermore, the Legislature finds that

24  failure to protect the confidentiality of any information

25  submitted to or collected by the Agency for Health Care

26  Administration pursuant to s. 395.0197(7), Florida Statutes,

27  regarding an adverse incident, including, but not limited to,

28  the identity of the patient, the type of adverse incident,

29  potential risk to other patients, and the fact that an

30  investigation is being conducted, would deter the collection

31  and reporting of this information by the agency. This would

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                                                  SENATE AMENDMENT

    Bill No. SB 316

    Amendment No. 1





 1  prevent the agency from effectively carrying out its

 2  responsibility to enforce corrective measures by a facility

 3  regarding the occurrence of an adverse incident. Release of

 4  such information would deter licensed facilities from

 5  internally reporting and correcting situations resulting in

 6  adverse incidents. This could lead to the deterioration of

 7  services rendered, all to the detriment of the health of those

 8  served. This exemption simply extends existing exemptions

 9  already in s. 395.0197, Florida Statutes, regarding the same

10  information to the new, earlier reporting requirement. The

11  Legislature has thus consistently and repeatedly acknowledged

12  the public necessity of these types of exemptions.

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