Bill Text: CA SB994 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Health care districts: design-build.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-1)

Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From Assembly without further action. [SB994 Detail]

Download: California-2015-SB994-Introduced.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 994	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Hill

                        FEBRUARY 10, 2016

   An act relating to outpatient health facilities.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 994, as introduced, Hill. Outpatient health facilities:
antimicrobial stewardship.
   Under existing law, health facilities, including, among others,
general acute care hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, primary
care clinics, and specialty clinics, are licensed and regulated by
the State Department of Public Health, and a violation of those
provisions is a crime. Existing law requires that each general acute
care hospital, on or before July 1, 2015, adopt and implement an
antimicrobial stewardship policy in accordance with guidelines
established by the federal government and professional organizations
that includes a process to evaluate the judicious use of antibiotics,
as specified. Existing law requires each skilled nursing facility,
on or before January 1, 2017, to adopt and implement an antimicrobial
stewardship policy consistent with guidelines developed by the
federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other
specified entities.
   This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation that would promote the establishment of antimicrobial
stewardship programs or policies in outpatient health facilities. The
bill makes related findings and declarations.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  It is the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation that would promote the establishment of antimicrobial
stewardship programs or policies in outpatient health facilities.
  SEC. 2.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
   (a) The overuse and misuse of antibiotics can lead to the
development of antibiotic-resistant infections, a major public health
threat.
   (b) The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
estimates that at least 2,000,000 Americans are infected with, and at
least 23,000 Americans die as a result of, antibiotic-resistant
infections every year, resulting in at least $20 billion in direct
health care costs and at least $35 billion in lost productivity in
the United States.
   (c) Antibiotic resistance is a growing threat. A recent study
commissioned by the United Kingdom determined that by 2050,
worldwide, more people will die from antibiotic-resistant infections
than from cancer.
   (d) The overuse and misuse of antibiotics in human medicine is a
significant factor driving the development of antibiotic resistance,
and a majority of antibiotics are prescribed in outpatient settings,
including primary care physician offices, outpatient settings where
physician assistants and nurse practitioners work, dentist offices,
and other specialty health care providers.
   (e) According to the CDC, in one year, 262.5 million courses of
antibiotics are written in outpatient settings. This equates to more
than five prescriptions written each year for every six people in the
United States. The CDC estimates that over one-half of the
antibiotics prescribed in outpatient settings are unnecessary.
   (f) More than 10 million courses of antibiotics are prescribed
each year for viral conditions that do not benefit from antibiotics.
   (g) Antibiotic stewardship programs, which are already required in
general acute care hospitals and skilled nursing facilities in the
state, but not in outpatient settings, are an effective way to reduce
inappropriate antibiotic use and the prevalence of
antibiotic-resistant infections.
   (h) The President's National Action Plan for Combating
Antibiotic-resistant Bacteria calls for the establishment of
antibiotic stewardship activities in all health care delivery
settings, including outpatient settings, by 2020.