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2018 SB 304: An Act Establishing A Maternal Mortality Review Program And Committee Within The Department Of Public Health.
Bill Text
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2018) (a) As used in this section, "maternal death" means the death of a woman while pregnant or not later than one year after the date on which the woman ceases to be pregnant, regardless of whether the woman's death is related to her pregnancy.
(b) There is established, within the Department of Public Health, a maternal mortality review panel to conduct comprehensive, multidisciplinary reviews of maternal deaths in the state for purposes of identifying factors associated with maternal death and making recommendations for improvements to the provision of health care services to women. The panel shall include, but need not be limited to, the Chief Medical Examiner, or his or her designee, the Commissioner of Public Health, or his or her designee, and the following members, who shall be appointed by the Commissioner of Public Health:
(1) A physician licensed pursuant to chapter 370 of the general statutes, who specializes in obstetrics;
(2) A physician licensed pursuant to chapter 370 of the general statutes, who specializes in maternal fetal medicine;
(3) A physician licensed pursuant to chapter 370 of the general statutes, who is a pediatrician who specializes in neonatology;
(4) A nurse-midwife licensed pursuant to chapter 377 of the general statutes;
(5) An epidemiologist affiliated with the epidemiology and emerging infections program administered by the Department of Public Health, who has experience analyzing perinatal data;
(6) A representative of the Department of Public Health, who participates in the maternal and child health needs assessment administered by the department;
(7) A representative of a community mental health center;
(8) A representative of a community or regional program or facility providing services for persons with psychiatric disabilities or persons with substance use disorders; and
(9) A relative of a woman in the state who died of a maternal death.
(c) Members of the maternal mortality review panel shall serve not more than three consecutive years. The review panel shall meet at least biannually and shall select its chairperson from among its members. Members shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.
(d) The maternal mortality review panel shall perform the following functions:
(1) Identify maternal death cases in the state;
(2) Review medical records and other relevant data related to each maternal death case;
(3) Contact family members of each woman who died of a maternal death and any other affected persons to collect additional data relevant to the maternal death case;
(4) Consult with relevant experts to evaluate information obtained in the panel's review of each maternal death case; and
(5) Make recommendations regarding the prevention of maternal death.
(e) Not later than January 1, 2019, and annually thereafter, the review panel shall report its findings and recommendations to the Department of Public Health and, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public health.
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2018) (a) Licensed health care providers, health care facilities and pharmacies shall provide reasonable access to the maternal mortality review panel established under section 1 of this act to all relevant medical records associated with a maternal death case under review by the panel.
(b) If there is a maternal death and the health care provider or health care facility has knowledge of the circumstances of the death, the health care provider or health care facility shall report the death to the maternal mortality review panel. Every report made under this subsection shall (1) be confidential, (2) not be open to public inspection or subject to disclosure, and (3) not be subject to subpoena or discovery or introduced into evidence in any judicial proceeding, except as otherwise specifically provided by law and upon sealing of the court record containing the information included in the report.
(c) No health care provider, health care facility or pharmacy that provides reasonable access to medical records under this section shall disclose personally identifiable information to the maternal mortality review panel if such disclosure would constitute a violation of federal law, including, but not limited to, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-191) (HIPAA), as amended from time to time.
(d) No health care provider, health care facility or pharmacy shall be subject to civil or criminal liability or disciplinary action for good faith efforts made to comply with the provisions of this section.
In Section 1(b), subdivisions (7) and (11) were deleted and "the Chief Medical Examiner, or his or her designee" and "the Commissioner of Public Health, or his or her designee" were inserted in the second sentence for accuracy and clarity.