Florida Senate - 2011 SB 1200
By Senator Jones
13-00454A-11 20111200__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the treatment of stroke; creating
3 s. 395.3044, F.S.; providing legislative findings;
4 providing definitions; providing duties for the Agency
5 for Health Care Administration with regard to the
6 statewide system for stroke response and treatment;
7 requiring the agency to establish the Stroke Task
8 Force; requiring the Secretary for Health Care
9 Administration to appoint the members of the Stroke
10 Task Force; providing the membership for the task
11 force; requiring the agency and the task force to
12 require specified health care facilities to report
13 certain data; providing additional duties of the task
14 force; requiring primary and comprehensive stroke
15 centers and certain medical facilities to report
16 certain data regarding stroke patients to a private,
17 tier-one research university in this state; requiring
18 that the private, tier-one research university store
19 and maintain the reported data and compiled
20 information and statistics in a registry; providing
21 that the implementation of the registry is contingent
22 upon the availability of funding; requiring the
23 private tier-one research university to use a
24 specified data platform for the registry; requiring
25 the private tier-one research university to coordinate
26 with national voluntary health organizations that are
27 involved in quality improvement of stroke patients;
28 providing for health care information collected in the
29 registry to be released only under certain conditions;
30 requiring the agency and the task force to submit a
31 report to the Governor, the Legislature, and the State
32 Surgeon General; providing that the act does not
33 restrict a hospital from providing services for which
34 it is licensed to provide; requiring the agency to
35 adopt rules; providing an effective date.
36
37 WHEREAS, stroke is the third leading killer in the United
38 States and in Florida, and
39 WHEREAS, stroke is a leading cause of serious long-term
40 disability in this state, and
41 WHEREAS, an estimated 780,000 new and recurrent strokes
42 occur each year in this country, and
43 WHEREAS, the number of persons having strokes is projected
44 to increase as the population ages, and
45 WHEREAS, this year in Florida more than 50,000 people will
46 fall victim to a potentially treatable stroke, and
47 WHEREAS, more than 8,000 Floridians will die from stroke
48 related complications, and
49 WHEREAS, increased quality improvement measures serve to
50 provide for increased positive patient outcomes, and
51 WHEREAS, understanding the care received by each stroke
52 patient will assist in quickly achieving these improved patient
53 outcomes, NOW, THEREFORE,
54
55 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
56
57 Section 1. Section 395.3044, Florida Statutes, is created
58 to read:
59 395.3044 Stroke Prevention Act.—
60 (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS.—
61 (a) The rapid identification, diagnosis, and treatment of a
62 stroke can save the life of a stroke patient and, in some cases,
63 can reverse neurological damage, such as paralysis and speech
64 and language impairments, leaving the stroke patient with few or
65 no neurological deficits.
66 (b) The Legislature further finds that the large number of
67 stroke-related loss of life and viability create an annual
68 financial burden for the state of more than $1.2 billion in
69 medical costs, supportive care, and lost productivity.
70 (2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
71 (a) “National Quality Forum” means a nonprofit organization
72 that operates under a three-part mission to improve the quality
73 of health care in the United States by:
74 1. Building consensus on national priorities and goals for
75 performance improvement and working in partnership to achieve
76 them;
77 2. Endorsing national consensus standards for measuring and
78 publicly reporting on performance; and
79 3. Promoting the attainment of national goals through
80 education and outreach programs.
81 (b) “Statewide system for stroke response and treatment”
82 means the process in which a stroke patient in this state is
83 quickly identified and transported to and treated in a primary
84 stroke center, a comprehensive stroke center, or a medical
85 facility that is licensed by the agency, except a pediatric
86 hospital, a critical access hospital, a psychiatric hospital, or
87 an agency that offers emergency medical services.
88 (c) “Joint Commission” means an independent, not-for-profit
89 organization that accredits and certifies health care
90 organizations and programs in the United States. The Joint
91 Commission’s accreditation and certification is recognized
92 nationwide as a symbol of quality that reflects an
93 organization’s commitment to meeting certain standards of
94 performance. The Joint Commission was formerly the Joint
95 Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.
96 (3) DUTIES.—The agency shall establish and implement a plan
97 for achieving continuous improvement in the quality of care
98 provided under the statewide system for stroke response and
99 treatment. In implementing this plan, the agency shall:
100 (a) Require the application of guidelines for evidenced
101 based treatment which align with guidelines of the nationally
102 approved National Quality Forum for the treatment and discharge
103 of patients.
104 (b) Establish a Stroke Task Force to assist in implementing
105 the plan for achieving continuous improvement in the quality of
106 care provided under the statewide system for stroke response and
107 treatment.
108 1. The Secretary for Health Care Administration shall
109 appoint the following 13 members to the Stroke Task Force:
110 a. The State Surgeon General or his or her designee;
111 b. The director of the Office of Public Health Research
112 within the Department of Health or his or her designee;
113 c. A neurologist licensed to practice medicine in this
114 state;
115 d. A designee from the American Stroke Association;
116 e. A member of the Florida College of Emergency Physicians;
117 f. A member of the Florida Hospital Association;
118 g. A member of a large metropolitan hospital in this state;
119 h. A representative from the Rural Health Association or
120 the Rural Hospital Association;
121 i. A designee from the Medicare Quality Improvement
122 Organization for this state;
123 j. A person who is certified in this state as an emergency
124 medical technician or paramedic;
125 k. An epidemiologist from a state college or university;
126 l. A registered nurse who treats stroke patients; and
127 m. A person who represents rehabilitative services for
128 stroke survivors.
129 2. The Stroke Task Force shall:
130 a. Analyze the data and information maintained and stored
131 by the private, tier-one research university in a registry as
132 provided in subsection (4).
133 b. Identify potential interventions to improve care for
134 stroke patients who live in certain geographic areas or regions
135 of the state.
136 c. Provide recommendations to the agency and the
137 Legislature for improving the delivery of health care services
138 to former and current stroke patients in the state.
139 (4) REGISTRY.—
140 (a)1. Each primary and comprehensive stroke center and each
141 medical facility that is licensed by the agency, except a
142 pediatric hospital, a critical access hospital, a psychiatric
143 hospital, or an agency that offers emergency medical services,
144 shall report to a private, tier-one research university in this
145 state data, including, but not limited to, discharge
146 destinations, which are consistent with nationally recognized
147 guidelines on the treatment of individuals who suffered a
148 confirmed stroke within the statewide system for stroke response
149 and treatment. The private, tier-one research university shall
150 compile information and statistics on care for stroke patients
151 which align with the stroke consensus metrics developed and
152 approved by the American Heart Association/American Stroke
153 Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and
154 the Joint Commission and shall store and maintain this compiled
155 information and statistics and the reported data in a registry.
156 2. The registry and the private, tier-one research
157 university’s implementation thereof are contingent upon the
158 availability of funds.
159 (b) The private, tier-one research university shall use the
160 American Heart Association’s program known as “Get With The
161 Guidelines-Stroke” as the data platform for the registry or
162 another nationally recognized data platform that has standards
163 for confidentiality that are equally secure.
164 (c) To the extent possible, the private, tier-one research
165 university shall coordinate with national voluntary health
166 organizations involved in quality improvement of stroke patients
167 in order to avoid duplication of efforts.
168 (5) RELEASE OF INFORMATION.—Health care data and other
169 information collected in the registry may be released only in
170 accordance with written agreements and subject to the
171 confidentiality provisions required under s. 25(b), Art. X of
172 the State Constitution, s. 381.028(6), and by other relevant
173 state and federal laws.
174 (6) ANNUAL REPORT.—By July 1, 2012, and annually
175 thereafter, the agency and the Stroke Task Force shall submit a
176 report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker
177 of the House of Representatives, and the State Surgeon General
178 on the progress made toward improving the quality of care and
179 patient outcomes under the statewide system for stroke response
180 and treatment.
181 (7) MEDICAL TREATMENT OF PATIENTS.—This section is not a
182 guideline for medical practice and does not restrict the
183 authority of a hospital to provide services for which it has
184 received a license under state law. The Legislature intends that
185 all patients be treated individually based on each patient’s
186 needs and circumstances.
187 (8) RULES.—The agency shall adopt rules to administer this
188 section.
189 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.