Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

ENGROSSED ORIGINAL

                                              A BILL

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                                              23-269

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                    IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

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 To amend the Health-Care and Community Residence Facility, Hospice and Home Care

       License Act of 1983 to require a health professional to submit to a board, commission or

       authority responsible for licensing, registering or certifying the health professional within

       10 business days notice of a malpractice judgment, confidential settlement, or that the

       health professional has been convicted of a crime, to require a health professional

       employer to submit notice to a board, commission or authority responsible for licensing,

       registering, or certifying the health professional information regarding sanctions imposed

       on an employee, within 10 business days after the sanction, to authorize the Mayor to fine

       a health professional or health professional employer in a tiered manner up to $10,000 for

       failure to comply with the reporting requirement, and to provide immunity to health

       professional employers from civil liability for good faith reporting; to amend the

       Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Act of 2013 to require mandatory

       registration by all physicians, advanced practice nurses, dentists, physician assistants,

       veterinarians, optometrists, naturopathic physicians and pharmacists within 90 days after

       becoming licensed under the Act or prior to renewal, and to require the Health

       Occupations Boards to ensure that a practitioner or dispenser is registered with the

       prescription drug monitoring program before renewing, reactivating, or reinstating a

       license; and to amend the Department of Health Functions Clarification Act of 2001 to

       clarify the regulation of cottage food.

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        BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA,

 That this act may be cited as the "Health Care Reporting Amendment Act of 2020."

        Sec. 2. The Health-Care and Community Residence Facility, Hospice and Home Care

 Licensure Act of 1983, effective February 24, 1984 (D.C. Law 5-48; D.C. Official Code  44-

 501 et seq.), is amended as follows:

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        (a) Section 2(a) (D.C. Official Code  44-501(a)) is amended as follows:

                (1) New paragraphs (11), (12), (13), and (14) are added to read as follows:

                (11) Assisted living residence shall have the same meaning as provided in

 section 201(4) of the Assisted Living Residence Act of 2000, effective June 24, 2000 (D.C.

 Law13-127; D.C. Official Code 44-102.01(4)).

                (12) Health professional means a person licensed, registered, certified,

 or permitted to practice a health occupation regulated by a licensing board in the District of

 Columbia.

                (13) Health professionals employer means any entity, including a

 facility, agency, assisted living residence, private office, health care provider, or group home, in

 the District of Columbia, that employs health professionals or utilizes the services of a health

 professional who is contracted with a third party or is self-employed, including those engaged in

 the practice of pharmacy.

                (14) Professional incompetence" means a health professional's unfitness to

 continue in the person's health profession, or to provide one or more services ordinarily provided

 as part of the profession, as demonstrated by:

                        (A) A lack of knowledge, skill, or judgment; or

                        (B) Disregard for the welfare of a patient or client..

        (b) Section 9 (D.C. Official Code  44-508) is amended as follows:

                (1) Subsection (a) is amended to read as follows:

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        "(a)(l) A health professional shall submit a report notifying the board, commission, or

 authority responsible for licensing, registering, or certifying the health professional within 10

 business days after:

                        "(A) The health professional:

                                "(i) Has been named in a malpractice suit and received notice of a

 judgment against him or her in that suit;

                                "(ii) Is party to a confidential settlement stemming from a

 malpractice claim to be paid by the health professional, an insurer, or other entity on behalf of

 the health professional; provided, that the health professional shall not include in a report any

 details required by the settlement to be kept confidential; or

                                "(iii) Has been convicted of a crime; or

                        "(B) The health professional obtains knowledge that a health care

 licensing authority of another state has taken disciplinary action against him or her.".

                (2) Consistent with paragraph (1) of this subsection, nothing in a confidential

 settlement agreement between a health professional, the insurer of the health professional, or

 other entities acting on behalf of the health professional and another person shall operate to

 prevent the parties to that agreement from filing a complaint with the board, commission, or

 authority responsible for licensing, registering or certifying the health professional, or from

 testifying in any investigation conducted by the board, commission, or authority responsible for

 licensing, registering, or certifying the health professional.".

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                 (2) A new subsection (a-1) is added to read as follows:

         "(a-1) A health professionals employer shall submit a report notifying the board,

 commission, or authority responsible for licensing, registering, or certifying a health professional

 within 10 business days after:

                 "(1) The health professionals employer has:

                         "(A) Reduced, suspended, revoked, or not renewed the health

 professional's clinical privileges;

                         "(B) Involuntarily terminated or restricted the health professional's

 employment or staff membership; or

                         (C) Asked the health professional to resign because the health

 professionals conduct has been determined to be in violation of section 514 of the District of

 Columbia Health Occupations Revision Act of 1985, effective March 25, 1986 (D.C. Law 6-99;

 D.C. Official Code  3-1205.14); or

                 "(2) The health professional has voluntarily resigned, or has been asked by the

 health professional employer to resign, while being investigated by the health professional

 employer for conduct in violation of section 514 of the District of Columbia Health Occupations

 Revision Act of 1985, effective March 25, 1986 (D.C. Law 6-99; D.C. Official Code  3-

 1205.14).".

                 (3) Subsection (b) is amended by striking the phrase subsection (a) of this

 section shall not apply to a temporary suspension or relinquishment of privileges or

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 responsibilities if a health professional enters and successfully completes a prescribed program

 of education or rehabilitation. As soon as there exists no reasonable expectation that he or she

 will enter and successfully complete such a prescribed program, the facility or agency shall

 submit a report forthwith pursuant to subsection (a) and inserting the phrase subsection (a-1) of

 this section shall not apply to a temporary suspension or relinquishment of privileges or

 responsibilities if a health professional enters and successfully completes a prescribed program

 of education or rehabilitation. As soon as there exists no reasonable expectation that he or she

 will enter and successfully complete such a prescribed program, the health professionals

 employer shall submit a report forthwith pursuant to subsection (a-1) in its place.

                (4) New subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f) are added to read as follows:

        "(c) The reports required by subsections (a) and (a-1) of this section shall be sent by

 registered or certified mail, with return receipt requested, or sent by a courier service,

 commercial carrier, personal service, or to a secure email address created by the Department.

        ''(d) In computing the 10 business-day reporting period in subsections (a) and (a-1) of this

 section, the day of the action or event that gave rise to the requirement to send the report shall

 not be counted. The last day of the 10-day period shall be counted unless it is a Saturday,

 Sunday, legal holiday, or day on which the Department of Health is officially closed, in which

 event the 10-day period shall continue until the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, legal

 holiday, or day on which the Department of Health is officially closed.

        "(e) The reporting required by subsections (a) and (a-1) of this section shall not act as a

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 waiver of confidentiality of medical records and committee reports. Records reported and

 obtained under this section shall remain confidential and shall not be disclosed, except as

 otherwise authorized or required by law. The records shall be used by the board, commission, or

 authority responsible for licensing, registering or certifying the health professional in the

 exercise of their functions and shall be made available to the public only as required by the

 Freedom of Information Act of 1976, effective March 25, 1977 (D.C. Law 1-96; D.C. Official

 Code  2-531 et seq.).

        (f) Any health professional employer, or employee of such employer, participating in

 good faith in the making of a report pursuant to this act shall have immunity from liability,

 administrative, civil, and criminal, that might otherwise be incurred or imposed with respect to

 the making of the report. The same immunity shall extend to participation in any judicial

 proceeding involving the report. In all administrative, civil, or criminal proceedings concerning

 the employee resulting from the report, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the maker of

 the report acted in good faith..

        (b) Section 10(e) (D.C. Official Code 44-509(e)) is amended by adding a new paragraph

 (lA) to read as follows:

                "(1A)(A) For health professional or health professionals employer that fails to

 comply with the reporting requirements set forth in section 9, the Mayor may impose a civil fine

 not to exceed $2,500 for the first incident, $5,000 for the second incident, and $10,000 for any

 violations occurring thereafter.

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                          "(B) In a proceeding to determine whether a health professional or health

 professionals employer has complied with the requirements of section 9, or in a proceeding

 challenging the imposition of a fine for failure to comply with the requirements of section 9, the

 health professional or health professionals employer shall have the burden of proving that the

 report was sent to the board, commission, or authority through one of the methods of service

 identified in section (9)(c) of this act if the board, commission, or authority states that it has not

 received the report.".

         Sec. 3. Section 513a of the District of Columbia Health Occupations Revision Act of

 1985, effective March 14, 2007 (D.C. Law 6-99; D.C. Official Code  3-1205.13a), is repealed.

         Sec. 4. The Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Act of 2013, effective April 11, 2019

 (D.C. Law 22-288; D.C. Official Code  48-853.01 et seq.) is amended as follows:

         (a) Section 4a (D.C. Official Code  48-853.03a) is repealed.

         (b) A new section 4b is added to read as follows:

         Sec. 4b. Registration requirement for practitioners and dispensers.

         (a) Any practitioner who is licensed, registered, or otherwise permitted to prescribe,

 distribute, dispense, conduct research with respect to, or to administer a controlled substance or

 other covered substance in the course of his or her professional practice, and any dispenser who

 is licensed in the District of Columbia to dispense a controlled substance or other covered

 substance to an ultimate user, his or her agent, or owner in the case of animals, shall be

 registered with the Program.

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        (b) Beginning 90 days after enactment of the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program

 Amendment Act of 2020, as approved by the Committee on Health on January 29, 2020 (Bill 23-

 269), each practitioner or dispenser who is required to be registered with the Program, pursuant

 to subsection (a) of this section, shall register with the Program within 90 days of obtaining a

 new health professional license or before renewing an existing health professional license,

 whichever occurs first.

        (c) The Health Occupations Boards shall not approve a practitioner or dispenser, who is

 required to be registered with the Program pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, for

 reinstatement, reactivation, or renewal of licensure without proof that the practitioner or

 dispenser has registered with the Program as required.

        (d) Failure to timely register with the Program shall constitute grounds for disciplinary

 action by the relevant health occupations board pursuant to section 514(c) of the District of

 Columbia Health Occupations Revision Act of 1985, effective March 25, 1986 (D.C. Law 6-99;

 D.C. Official Code  3-1205.14(c)), and the imposition of civil fines pursuant to section 104 of

 the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Civil Infractions Act of 1985, effective

 October 5, 1985 (D.C. Law 6-42, D.C. Official Code  2-1801.01 et seq.)..

        Sec. 5. Section 4931(3) of the Department of Health Functions Clarification Act of 2001,

 effective January 25, 2014 (D.C. Law 20-63; D.C. Official Code  7-742.01 et seq.), is amended

 by striking the phrase direct to consumers within the District of Columbia and inserting the

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 phrase to consumers, including through direct, retail, and online sales, within the District of

 Columbia in its place.

        Sec. 6. Fiscal impact statement.

        The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal

 impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975,

 approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code  l-301.47a).

        Sec. 7. Effective date.

        This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the

 Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of congressional review as

 provided in section 602(c)(l) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December

 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code  l-206.02(c)(l)), and publication in the District of

 Columbia Register.

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