The Florida Senate

¹408.062  Research, analyses, studies, and reports.--

(1)  The agency shall have the authority to conduct research, analyses, and studies relating to health care costs and access to and quality of health care services as access and quality are affected by changes in health care costs. Such research, analyses, and studies shall include, but not be limited to, research and analysis relating to:

(a)  The financial status of any health care facility or facilities subject to the provisions of this chapter.

(b)  The impact of uncompensated charity care on health care facilities and health care providers.

(c)  The state's role in assisting to fund indigent care.

(d)  The availability and affordability of health insurance for small businesses.

(e)  Total health care expenditures in the state according to the sources of payment and the type of expenditure.

(f)  The quality of health services, using techniques such as small area analysis, severity adjustments, and risk-adjusted mortality rates.

(g)  The development of physician payment systems which are capable of taking into account the amount of resources consumed and the outcomes produced in the delivery of care.

(h)  The impact of subacute admissions on hospital revenues and expenses for purposes of calculating adjusted admissions as defined in s. 408.07

(2)  The agency may assess annually the caesarean section rate in Florida hospitals using the analysis methodology that the agency determines most appropriate. To assist the agency in determining the impact of this chapter on Florida hospitals' caesarean section rates, each provider hospital, as defined in s. 383.336, shall notify the agency of the date of implementation of the practice parameters and the date of the first meeting of the hospital peer review board created pursuant to this chapter. The agency shall use these dates in monitoring any change in provider hospital caesarean section rates. An annual report based on this monitoring and assessment shall be submitted to the Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the President of the Senate by the agency, with the first annual report due January 1, 1993.

(3)  The agency may also prepare such summaries and compilations or other supplementary reports based on the information analyzed by the agency under this section, as will advance the purposes of this chapter.

(4)(a)  The agency may conduct data-based studies and evaluations and make recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor concerning exemptions, the effectiveness of limitations of referrals, restrictions on investment interests and compensation arrangements, and the effectiveness of public disclosure. Such analysis may include, but need not be limited to, utilization of services, cost of care, quality of care, and access to care. The agency may require the submission of data necessary to carry out this duty, which may include, but need not be limited to, data concerning ownership, Medicare and Medicaid, charity care, types of services offered to patients, revenues and expenses, patient-encounter data, and other data reasonably necessary to study utilization patterns and the impact of health care provider ownership interests in health-care-related entities on the cost, quality, and accessibility of health care.

(b)  The agency may collect such data from any health facility as a special study.

History.--s. 69, ch. 92-33; s. 12, ch. 93-129; s. 12, ch. 98-89; s. 17, ch. 2000-209; s. 31, ch. 2003-57.

¹Note.--Section 42, ch. 2002-400, provides that "[t]he Agency for Health Care Administration may conduct a 2-year pilot project to authorize overnight stays in one ambulatory surgical center located in Acute Care Subdistrict 9-1. An overnight stay shall be permitted only to perform plastic and reconstructive surgeries defined by current procedural terminology code numbers 13000-19999. The total time a patient is at the ambulatory surgical center shall not exceed 23 hours and 59 minutes, including the surgery time, and the maximum planned duration of all surgical procedures combined shall not exceed 8 hours. Prior to implementation of the pilot project, the agency shall establish minimum requirements for protecting the health, safety, and welfare of patients receiving overnight care. These shall include, at a minimum, compliance with all statutes and rules applicable to ambulatory surgical centers and the requirements set forth in Rule 64B8-9.009, Florida Administrative Code, relating to Level II and Level III procedures. If the agency implements the pilot project, it shall, within 6 months after its completion, submit a report to the Legislature on whether to expand the pilot project to include all ambulatory surgical centers. The recommendation shall be based on consideration of the efficacy and impact to patient safety and quality of patient care of providing plastic and reconstructive surgeries in the ambulatory surgical center setting. The agency is authorized to obtain such data as necessary to implement this section."