Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

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68th Legislature 2023                                                                                             HB 590.1
                                                  HOUSE BILL NO. 590
                  INTRODUCED BY E. BUTTREY, A. BUCKLEY, G. FRAZER, J. LYNCH, E. MATTHEWS
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  A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: “AN ACT CREATING LAWS RELATED TO VIOLENCE AGAINST HEALTH
  CARE WORKERS AND WORKERS EMPLOYED BY HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS; PROVIDING FOR
  REPORTING OF VIOLENCE AGAINST A HEALTH CARE WORKER; PROVIDING FOR A REPORT OF
  VIOLENCE AGAINST HEALTH CARE WORKERS; AMENDING SECTION 50-16-805, MCA; AND PROVIDING
  A TERMINATION DATE.”
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  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
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          NEW SECTION. Section 1.          Reporting of violence against health care employee. (1) If a health
  care employee suffers an act of violence while on duty, the health care employer shall ensure that the health
  care employee and any employees who witnessed the act of violence provide oral reports to the health care
  employer. The oral reports must be made by the fastest possible means, absent circumstances beyond the
  control of the health care employer, and not later than 24 hours after the act of violence.
          (2)        The health care employer of a health care employee who suffers an act of violence shall report
  the event to law enforcement if the health care employee consents.
          (3)        (a) After the health care employer receives an oral report under subsection (1), the health care
  employer shall produce a written report that includes the following:
          (i)        the phone number, address, and contact person for the health care employer;
          (ii)       the job title, name, phone number, and address of the health care employee who suffered the
  act of violence;
          (iii)      the name, phone number, and address of the person who committed the act of violence, if
  known; and
          (iv)       a detailed description of the act of violence, noting the date and time the oral report was made.
          (b)        Reports created in accordance with this section are not considered protected health care
  information and must be retained by health care employers separate and apart from a patient’s medical record.
                                                                -1-                     Authorized Print Version – HB 590
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68th Legislature 2023                                                                                            HB 590.1
          (4)      The health care employer shall retain a copy of the written report for 5 years and provide
  copies of the reports to the department quarterly or on request by the department. Disclosure of this information
  by a health care employer should be made on a minimum necessary basis and the disclosure is authorized by
  50-16-805.
          (5)      Based on information received under this section, the department shall compile an annual
  report on workplace violence in health care and publish the report to its website annually.
          (6)      For the purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
          (a)      "Act of violence" means an action in which a person intentionally or purposefully uses force that
  causes injury to another person or threatens to use force against a person that causes substantial fear of injury
  to the person.
          (b)      "Health care employee" means any employee employed by a health care employer and who
  provides health care services in the course of employment.
          (c)      "Health care employer" means an employer of health care employees.
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          Section 2. Section 50-16-805, MCA, is amended to read:
          "50-16-805. Disclosure of information allowed for certain purposes. (1) To the extent provided in
  39-71-604 and 50-16-527, a signed claim for workers' compensation or occupational disease benefits
  authorizes disclosure to the workers' compensation insurer, as defined in 39-71-116, by the health care
  provider.
          (2)      A health care provider may disclose health care information about an individual for law
  enforcement purposes if the disclosure is to:
          (a)      federal, state, or local law enforcement authorities to the extent required by law; or
          (b)      a law enforcement officer about the general physical condition of a patient being treated in a
  health care facility if the patient was injured by the possible criminal act of another.
          (3)      A health care provider may disclose health care information to a fetal, infant, child, and
  maternal mortality review team for the purposes of 50-19-402.
          (4)      A health care employer may disclose information contained in written reports pursuant to
  [section 1] to the department of labor and industry for data collection and reporting purposes."
                                                                -2-                      Authorized Print Version – HB 590
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68th Legislature 2023                                                                                                HB 590.1
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          NEW SECTION. Section 3.          Codification instruction. [Section 1] is intended to be codified as an
  integral part of Title 39, chapter 71, part 2, and the provisions of Title 39, chapter 71, part 2, apply to [section 1].
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          NEW SECTION. Section 4.          Termination. [Sections 1 and 2] terminate June 30, 2025.
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                                                                 -3-                      Authorized Print Version – HB 590
Statutes affected: 
HB0590_1.pdf: 50-16-805
HB0590_2.pdf: 50-16-805
HB0590_3.pdf: 50-16-805
Amended: 50-16-805
Introduced: 50-16-805