S
Senate Bill No. 458
(By Senators White, Rowe, Bailey, Dempsey, Fanning, Helmick,
Kessler, Jenkins, Love, Unger, Hunter, Bowman, Ross, Plymale,
Minard and Sharpe)
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[Introduced February 5, 2003; referred to the Committee on Health
and Human Resources; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend article five-b, chapter sixteen of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated section four-a,
relating to requiring hospitals to implement a plan to
eliminate or substantially reduce medication-related errors.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article five-b, chapter sixteen of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section four-a,
to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5B. HOSPITALS AND SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS.
§16-5B-4a. Plan for reduction of medication-related errors as
condition of licensure.
(a) As a condition of licensure under this article, every
ambulatory health care facility, ambulatory surgical facility, hospital or extended care facility operated in connection with a
hospital shall adopt a formal plan to eliminate or substantially
reduce medication-related errors. This plan shall include
technology implementation, such as computerized physician order
entry or other technology that, based upon independent, expert
scientific advice and data, has been shown effective in eliminating
or substantially reducing medication-related errors.
(b) Each facility's plan shall be provided to the bureau of
health of the State department of health and human resources no
later than the fifteenth day of January, two thousand five. Within
ninety days after receiving a plan, the bureau of health shall
either approve the plan, or return it to the facility with comments
and suggestions for improvement. The facility shall revise and
resubmit the plan within ninety days after receiving it from the
bureau. The bureau shall provide final written approval within
ninety days after resubmission.
(c) For purposes of this section, a "medication-related error"
means any preventable medication-related event that adversely
affects a patient in a facility listed in subsection (a) of this
section, and that is related to professional practice, or health
care products, procedures, and systems, including prescribing,
prescription order communications, product labeling, packaging
and nomenclature, compounding, dispensing, distribution,
administration, education, monitoring, and use.
(d) Each facility's plan shall do the following:
(1) Evaluate, assess, and include a method to address each of
the procedures and systems listed under subsection (c) to identify
weaknesses or deficiencies that could contribute to errors in the
administration of medication.
(2) Include an annual review to assess the effectiveness of
the implementation of each of the procedures and systems listed
under subdivision (c) of this section.
(3) Be modified as warranted when weaknesses or deficiencies
are noted to achieve the reduction of medication errors.
(4) Describe the technology to be implemented and how it is
expected to reduce medication errors.
(5) Include a system or process to proactively identify actual
or potential medication-related errors. The system or process
shall include concurrent and retrospective review of clinical care.
(6) Include a multidisciplinary process, including health care
professionals responsible for pharmaceuticals, nursing, medical,
and administration, to regularly analyze all identified actual or
potential medication-related errors and describe how the analysis
will be utilized to change current procedures and systems to reduce
medication-related errors.
(7) Include a process to incorporate external medication-
related error alerts to modify current processes and systems as
appropriate. Failure to meet this criterion may not cause disapproval of the initial plan submitted.
(e) Beginning the fifteenth day of January, two thousand
seven, the bureau of health shall require compliance with the
provisions of this section as a condition of licensure of any
facility subject to the provisions of this article.
(f) The bureau of health is hereby directed to propose
legislative rules in accordance with the provisions of article
three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code designed to implement the
provisions of this section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to
require hospitals to
implement a plan to eliminate or substantially reduce
medication-related errors.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.