The proposed legislation, General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5169, mandates the establishment of a system within the State-wide Health Information Exchange to alert health care providers about patients with a history of violence or combative behavior towards them. The Department of Public Health is required to develop this system by January 1, 2027, which will enable health care providers with compatible electronic health records systems to report incidents of patient violence and receive alerts when accepting new patients or meeting with existing patients who have documented histories of such behavior.

Additionally, starting January 1, 2027, health care providers must document any incidents of violence or combative behavior directed at them or witnessed by them involving patients in their electronic health records. This initiative aims to enhance the safety of health care providers by ensuring they are informed about potentially dangerous patients, thereby allowing for better preparedness and response in clinical settings. The bill introduces new legal language to implement these requirements while deleting any outdated provisions that may conflict with the new regulations.