House Study Bill 93 



                                       SENATE/HOUSE FILE       
                                       BY  (PROPOSED DEPARTMENT OF
                                            INSPECTIONS AND APPEALS
                                            BILL)


    Passed Senate, Date               Passed House,  Date             
    Vote:  Ayes        Nays           Vote:  Ayes        Nays         
                 Approved                            

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to the regulation of hospitals and health care
  2    facilities by the department of inspections and appeals,
  3    including investigations of complaints against health care
  4    facilities and rules relating to authentication of certain
  5    orders by practitioners, and providing an immediate effective
  6    date.
  7 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  8 TLSB 1380XD 82
  9 nh/je/5

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 135C.38, subsection 1, paragraph a,
  1  2 Code 2007, is amended to read as follows:
  1  3    a.  Upon receipt of a complaint made in accordance with
  1  4 section 135C.37, the department or resident advocate committee
  1  5 shall make a preliminary review of the complaint.  Unless the
  1  6 department or committee concludes that the complaint is
  1  7 intended to harass a facility or a licensee or is without
  1  8 reasonable basis, it the department or committee shall within
  1  9 twenty working days of receipt of the complaint make or cause
  1 10 to be made an on=site inspection of the health care facility
  1 11 which is the subject of the complaint. within the time period
  1 12 determined pursuant to the following guidelines, which period
  1 13 shall commence on the date of receipt of the complaint:
  1 14    (1)  For nursing facilities, the United States department
  1 15 of health and human services, centers for Medicare and
  1 16 Medicaid services, publication number 100=07, state operations
  1 17 manual, chapter 5.
  1 18    (2)  For intermediate care facilities for the mentally
  1 19 retarded, the United States department of health and human
  1 20 services, centers for Medicare and Medicaid services,
  1 21 publication number 100=07, state operations manual, chapter 5,
  1 22 except that for allegations of abuse or harm, an on=site
  1 23 inspection shall be initiated within twenty working days.
  1 24    (3)  For all other types of health care facilities, the
  1 25 same as provided for intermediate care facilities for the
  1 26 mentally retarded in subparagraph (2).
  1 27    Sec. 2.  2001 Iowa Acts, chapter 93, section 2, is
  1 28 repealed.
  1 29    Sec. 3.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  The section of this Act repealing
  1 30 2001 Iowa Acts, chapter 93, section 2, being deemed of
  1 31 immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
  1 32                           EXPLANATION
  1 33    This bill relates to the regulation of hospitals and health
  1 34 care facilities by the department of inspections and appeals.
  1 35    The bill modifies the required time frames for initiating
  2  1 investigations into complaints against health care facilities.
  2  2 The bill removes the requirement that such investigations
  2  3 commence within 20 days of receipt of a complaint and makes
  2  4 the time frames consistent with federal requirements.
  2  5    The bill repeals a sunset provision that would have
  2  6 repealed, as of June 30, 2007, a provision directing the
  2  7 department to adopt rules that require hospitals to establish
  2  8 procedures for authentication of medication and standing
  2  9 orders by a practitioner within a period not to exceed 30 days
  2 10 following a patient's discharge.  This section of the bill
  2 11 takes effect upon enactment.
  2 12 LSB 1380XD 82
  2 13 nh:sc/je/5.1