147A.23  Trauma care system development.
  1.  The department is designated as a lead agency in this state responsible for the development of a statewide trauma care system.
  2.  The department shall develop, coordinate, and monitor a statewide trauma care system. This system shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
  a.  (1)  Development of criteria for the categorization of all hospitals and emergency care facilities according to their trauma care capabilities. These categories shall be for levels I, II, III, and IV, based on the most current guidelines published by the American college of surgeons committee on trauma, the American college of emergency physicians, and the model trauma care plan of the United States department of health and human services’ health resources and services administration.
  (2)  The categorization of all hospitals and emergency care facilities by the department as to their capacity to provide trauma care services. The categorization shall be determined by the department from self-reported information provided to the department by the hospital or emergency care facility. This categorization shall not be construed to imply any guarantee on the part of the department as to the level of trauma care services available at the hospital or emergency care facility.
  b.  (1)  Development of a process for the verification of the trauma care capacity of each facility and the issuance of a certificate of verification. The standards and verification process shall be established by rule and may vary as appropriate by level of trauma care capability. To the extent possible, the standards and verification process shall be coordinated with other applicable accreditation and licensing standards.
  (2)  The issuance of a certificate of verification of all categorized hospitals and emergency care facilities from the department at the level preferred by the hospital or emergency care facility. 
  c.  Upon verification and the issuance of a certificate of verification, agreement by a hospital or emergency care facility to maintain a level of commitment and resources sufficient to meet responsibilities and standards as required by the trauma care criteria established by rule under this subchapter. Verifications are valid for a period of three years or as determined by the department and are renewable. As part of the verification and renewal process, the department may conduct periodic on-site reviews of the services and facilities of the hospital or emergency care facility.
  d.  Implementation of an Iowa trauma care plan.
  e.  Development of standards for medical direction, trauma care, triage and transfer protocols, and trauma registries.
  f.  Promotion of public information and education activities for injury prevention.
  g.  The development of strategies and the review of rules adopted under this subchapter to promote optimal trauma care delivery throughout the state.
  h.  Development, implementation, and conducting of trauma care system evaluation, quality assessment, and quality improvement.
  3.  The department is responsible for the funding of the administrative costs of this subchapter. Any funds received by the department for this purpose shall be deposited in the emergency medical services fund established in section 135.25.
  4.  This section shall not be construed to limit the number and distribution of level I, II, III, and IV categorized and verified trauma care facilities in a community or region.
  5.  Proceedings, records, and reports developed pursuant to this section constitute peer review records under section 147.135, and are not subject to discovery by subpoena or admissible as evidence. All information and documents received from a hospital or emergency care facility under this subchapter shall be confidential pursuant to section 272C.6, subsection 4.
95 Acts, ch 40, §4; 2024 Acts, ch 1170, §436
Referred to in §147A.21