Bill Text: NJ SCR157 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges federal government to make National Practitioner Data Bank available to state health care professional boards without cost.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-02-21 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Commerce Committee [SCR157 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-SCR157-Introduced.html
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 157
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
218th LEGISLATURE
INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 21, 2019
Sponsored by:
Senator NELLIE POU
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Urges federal government to make National Practitioner Data Bank available to state health care professional boards without cost.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Concurrent Resolution urging the federal government to make the National Practitioner Data Bank available to certain state professional boards without cost.
Whereas, The National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) is a national repository of information regarding adverse actions related to health care practitioners, providers, and suppliers; and
Whereas, The NPDB maintains a database with information on medical malpractice payments, adverse licensure actions or loss of license, adverse clinical privileging actions, any negative action or finding by a state licensing or certification authority, and exclusions from federal or state health care programs, among other information; and
Whereas, The NPDB provides valuable information that can help patients and health care providers make safer and more informed choices about their health care options; and
Whereas, The general public does not have access to the NPDB, but hospitals and state health care professional boards, which oversee the licensure of certain health care practitioners, have access for a fee of two dollars per search; and
Whereas, Most state health care professional boards regularly report adverse actions to the NPDB, but many fail to check health care practitioner records on a regular basis; and
Whereas, When a state health care professional board does not check health care practitioner records regularly, the board may be unaware of information that is vital to licensure decisions regarding health care practitioners; and
Whereas, Occasionally, health care practitioners who have experienced an adverse action in one state are able to continue practicing or even acquire a new license in another state that may be unaware of the adverse action because it does not regularly check the NPDB; and
Whereas, Providing state health care professional boards with free access to the NPDB would remove a barrier to the regular use of the database to check health care practitioner records; and
Whereas, Making the NPDB available without cost could improve access to this information and improve the regularity with which record searches are performed by state health care professional boards; and
Whereas, Improving the regularity of record searches will help protect patients not only in New Jersey, but throughout the United States; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey (the General Assembly concurring):
1. The Legislature of this
State respectfully urges the federal
government to make the National Practitioner Data Bank available to state health
care professional boards without cost.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly or the Secretary of the Senate to the Speaker and Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, and to each member of Congress elected from this State.
STATEMENT
This concurrent resolution urges the federal government to make the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) available to state health care professional boards without cost.
The NPDB provides information on adverse actions against health care practitioners. The information is not available to the public, but state professional licensing boards may access its information for a fee of two dollars per search. Record searches performed through the NPDB offer critical information to state professional licensing boards, which make decisions regarding the licensure or continued licensure of certain health care practitioners within the state.
Many boards do not regularly perform record searches to determine if applicants for licensure or licensed practitioners have faced any adverse actions. Without regular record searches, boards may be unaware of adverse actions that may otherwise lead to the denial of an application for licensure or the revocation of licensure.
The NPDB's two dollar fee for record searches represents a barrier to the regular use of the database. By providing state professional licensing boards with free access to the database, the federal government can help improve patient safety in New Jersey and throughout the United States.
