Bill Text: NY S04626 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Enacts the "medical malpractice savings act"; directs the commissioner of health to promulgate rules and regulations requiring all facilities with obstetrical programs to establish and implement a comprehensive obstetrics program to reduce medical errors and improve patient outcomes.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-04 - REFERRED TO HEALTH [S04626 Detail]

Download: New_York-2011-S04626-Introduced.html
                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         4626
                              2011-2012 Regular Sessions
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                    April 13, 2011
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  Sen.  KLEIN  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
         printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
       AN ACT to amend the public health  law,  in  relation  to  enacting  the
         "medical malpractice savings act"
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited  as  the  "medical
    2  malpractice savings act".
    3    S  2.  Legislative  findings. From 2003 to 2009, New York-Presbyterian
    4  Hospital/Weill  Cornell  Medical  Center  implemented  a   comprehensive
    5  obstetric  patient  safety program in order to reduce medical errors and
    6  improve patient care. To evaluate its effect  on  compensation  payments
    7  and  sentinel  events,  data was gathered on medical malpractice compen-
    8  sation payments and sentinel events retrospectively from 2003, when  the
    9  program  was initiated, through 2009. Average yearly medical malpractice
   10  compensation payments decreased from $27,591,610  between  2003-2006  to
   11  $2,550,136  between 2007-2009, while sentinel events decreased from 5 in
   12  2000 to none in 2008 and  2009.  Clearly,  instituting  a  comprehensive
   13  obstetric  patient safety program increases patient safety and decreases
   14  medical malpractice compensation payments. The success of the New  York-
   15  Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center comprehensive obstet-
   16  ric  patient  safety  program  should be replicated throughout the state
   17  under the direction and guidance of the department of health.
   18    S 3. The public health law is amended by adding a new  section  2803-t
   19  to read as follows:
   20    S  2803-T.  COMPREHENSIVE  OBSTETRIC  PATIENT  SAFETY PROGRAMS. 1. THE
   21  COMMISSIONER, DRAWING ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE  OBSTETRICS  SAFETY  PROGRAM
   22  IMPLEMENTED  BY  NEW  YORK-PRESBYTERIAN  HOSPITAL/WEILL  CORNELL MEDICAL
   23  CENTER AS DESCRIBED IN THE FEBRUARY 2011 ISSUE OF THE  AMERICAN  JOURNAL
   24  OF  OBSTETRICS  &  GYNECOLOGY,  SHALL  PROMULGATE  RULES AND REGULATIONS
   25  REQUIRING ALL FACILITIES WITH OBSTETRICAL PROGRAMS LICENSED  UNDER  THIS
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD10066-02-1
       S. 4626                             2
    1  ARTICLE  TO  ESTABLISH  AND  IMPLEMENT A COMPREHENSIVE OBSTETRICS SAFETY
    2  PROGRAM TO REDUCE MEDICAL ERRORS AND IMPROVE PATIENT OUTCOMES.
    3    2.  ALL  COVERED FACILITIES SHALL BE REQUIRED TO REPORT THE RESULTS OF
    4  SUCH PROGRAMS, INCLUDING DEATHS, INJURIES AND MALPRACTICE  PAYMENTS  AND
    5  OTHER  MALPRACTICE  COSTS TO THE COMMISSIONER AND SUCH INFORMATION SHALL
    6  BE MADE AVAILABLE TO THE GOVERNOR AND LEGISLATURE IN AN  ANNUAL  REPORT.
    7  FAILURE  TO  IMPLEMENT A COMPREHENSIVE OBSTETRICAL SAFETY PROGRAM AND/OR
    8  FAILURE TO REPORT THE  SAFETY  AND  MALPRACTICE  EXPERIENCE  OF  SUCH  A
    9  PROGRAM  SHALL BE GROUNDS FOR THE COMMISSIONER TO INVESTIGATE THE STAND-
   10  ARD OF CARE AT SUCH A  HOSPITAL  AND  TAKE  APPROPRIATE  CORRECTIVE  AND
   11  DISCIPLINARY ACTION.
   12    S  4.  This  act shall take effect immediately provided, however, that
   13  the commissioner of health shall  promulgate  any  necessary  rules  and
   14  regulations within one hundred eighty days after such effective date.
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