HF 263 (LSB 2334YH (4) 86)

HOUSE FILE 263

BY  HEATON

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the development and initial implementation of an inpatient psychiatric bed tracking system by the department of human services.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  INPATIENT PSYCHIATRIC BED TRACKING SYSTEM —— DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES.  The department of human services shall expend the sum of two hundred thousand dollars, or so much thereof as is necessary, for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2015, and ending June 30, 2016, to be used for the development and initial implementation of an inpatient psychiatric bed tracking system in accordance with this section.
   1.  In developing the requirements for procurement of the system, the department of human services shall engage the group of magistrates and hospital personnel that assisted the department in developing the hospital bed tracking system report submitted to the general assembly in December 2013, pursuant to 2013 Iowa Acts, chapter 130, section 56. The department shall also engage representatives of other portions of the mental health system, including representatives of the regional mental health and disability services system, the state mental health institutes, the Iowa behavioral health association, and the Iowa association of community providers. The procedural issues addressed by the group shall include but are not limited to the responsibility for data entry and verification, timeliness of data entry, confidentiality requirements associated with the data needed to ensure the usefulness of the system, and key characteristics and capacity information about the beds in the system.
   2.  The department shall base the procurement requirements on the recommendation option contained in the December 2013 report that projected the lowest annual maintenance and operating costs rather than the other option.
   3.  Upon a court-ordered mental health commitment, the clerk of the district court shall utilize the electronic tracking system, once in place, to enter information into the system relating to the court order, check the database for the availability of open inpatient psychiatric hospital beds, and, if available, specify the inpatient psychiatric hospital bed in the facility or institution to which a patient who is the subject of the mental health commitment order should be assigned.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with

the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to the development and initial implementation of an inpatient psychiatric bed tracking system.
   The bill directs the department of human services to expend $200,000 for fiscal year 2015-2016 for the development and initial implementation of an inpatient psychiatric bed tracking system. In developing the requirements for procurement of the system, the department is required to engage the group of magistrates and hospital personnel that assisted the department in developing the hospital bed tracking system report submitted to the general assembly in December 2013 (2013 Iowa Acts, chapter 130, section 56) along with representatives of the regional mental health and disability services system, the state mental health institutes, the Iowa behavioral health association, and the Iowa association of community providers. The procedural issues addressed by the group shall include but are not limited to the responsibility for data entry and verification, timeliness of data entry, confidentiality requirements, and key characteristics and capacity information about the beds in the system.
   The bill provides that upon a court-ordered mental health commitment, the clerk of the district court shall utilize the electronic tracking system, once in place, to enter information into the system relating to the court order, check the database for the availability of open inpatient psychiatric hospital beds, and, if available, specify the inpatient psychiatric hospital bed in the facility or institution to which a patient who is the subject of the mental health commitment order should be assigned.