10
EXPLANATION - Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets
[
thus
]
in the above bill
is not enacted and is intended to be omitted in the law.
Matter underlined thus is new matter.
State seeks to increase the amount of information on systems failures,
analyze the sources of these failures and disseminate information on
effective practices for reducing systems failures and improving the safety
of patients.
15. (New section) a. As used in this section:
"Adverse event" means an event that is a negative consequence of
care that results in unintended injury or illness, which may or may not
have been preventable.
"Anonymous" means that information is presented in a form and
manner that prevents the identification of the person filing the report.
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Health and Senior
Services.
"Department" means the Department of Health and Senior Services.
"Event" means a discrete, auditable and clearly defined occurrence.
"Health care facility" or "facility" means a health care facility
licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.) and a State
psychiatric hospital operated by the Department of Human Services and
listed in R.S.30:1-7.
"Health care professional" means an individual, who, acting within
the scope of his licensure or certification, provides health care services,
and includes, but is not limited to, a physician, dentist, nurse, pharmacist
or other health care professional whose professional practice is regulated
pursuant to Title 45 of the Revised Statutes.
"Near-miss" means an occurrence that could have resulted in an
adverse event but the adverse event was prevented.
"Preventable event" means an event that could have been anticipated
and prepared against, but occurs because of an error or other system
failure.
"Serious preventable adverse event" means a preventable adverse
event that results in death or loss of a body part, or disability or loss of
bodily function lasting more than seven days or still present at the time
of discharge from a health care facility.
b. In accordance with the requirements established by the
commissioner by regulation, pursuant to this section, a health care
facility shall develop and implement a patient safety plan for the purpose
of improving the health and safety of patients at the facility.
The
patient safety plan shall, at a minimum, include:
(1) a patient safety committee, as prescribed by regulation. The
commissioner may permit a facility to use its existing quality
improvement committee for this purpose if the existing committee meets
the requirements established for a patient safety committee;
(2) a process for multi-disciplinary teams of facility personnel with
appropriate competencies to conduct ongoing analysis and application of
evidence-based patient safety practices to reduce the probability of
adverse events resulting from exposure to the health care system across a
range of diseases and procedures;
(3) a process for multi-disciplinary teams of facility personnel with
appropriate competencies to conduct analyses of near-misses, with
particular attention to serious preventable adverse events and adverse
events; and
(4) a process for the provision of ongoing patient safety training for
facility personnel.
c. A health care facility shall report to the department, or in the case
of a State psychiatric hospital, to the Department of Human Services, in
