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AB-2449 Health facility training and protocols: sepsis prevention.(2019-2020)

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Date Published: 02/19/2020 09:00 PM
AB2449:v99#DOCUMENT


CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2449

Introduced by Assembly Member Berman

February 19, 2020

An act to add Section 1288.53 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to sepsis prevention.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2449, as introduced, Berman. Health facility training and protocols: sepsis prevention.
Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of health facilities, including general acute care hospitals, by the State Department of Public Health. Existing law requires the department to appoint a Healthcare Associated Infection Advisory Committee to make recommendations related to methods of reporting cases of hospital-acquired infections in general acute care hospitals and on the use of national guidelines and the public reporting process measures for preventing the spread of hospital-acquired infections.
This bill would require the department to establish a Sepsis Advisory Committee, to meet at the department’s discretion, comprised of persons with expertise in the surveillance, prevention, and treatment of, or training related to, sepsis, including representatives from relevant state departments and health care provider groups. The bill would require the committee to collect and provide to the department the most relevant research, studies, and best practices for the prevention and treatment of sepsis, including any relevant reporting on sepsis morbidity and mortality, and recommend best practices for evidence-based sepsis prevention, training, and treatment guidelines for licensed health care facilities and health care professionals. The bill would also require the department to establish and maintain a public web-based clearinghouse for information related to sepsis prevention, treatment, and training, as specified.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Sepsis is the body’s overwhelming and life-threatening response to an infection, which can lead to organ failure, loss of limbs, or death.
(b) More than 1,700,000 Americans experience this medical emergency annually, and approximately 270,000 Americans die from sepsis each year. In 2018, 270,596 California residents were hospitalized with sepsis, with 38,809 hospital-based sepsis deaths.
(c) Sepsis is the most common and expensive condition treated in hospitals and exacts an enormous human and economic toll. In California, hospital charges related to sepsis totaled 36.8 billion dollars in 2016.
(d) Many sepsis deaths could be prevented through greater public awareness of the causes of this condition and focused initiatives by hospitals and health systems to adopt treatment protocols, train caregivers in the early detection and treatment of sepsis, and measure and report sepsis morbidity and mortality rates and trends.
(e) Public education on the signs and symptoms of, and risk factors for, sepsis will better prepare providers, patients, and families to fight sepsis.
(f) Greater collaboration between all health care stakeholders will help reduce sepsis mortality.

SEC. 2.

 Section 1288.53 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

1288.53.
 (a) The department shall establish a Sepsis Advisory Committee that will meet at the discretion of the department.
(b) The committee shall include persons with expertise in the surveillance, prevention, and treatment of, or training related to, sepsis, including representatives from relevant state departments, health care provider groups, and other experts in sepsis prevention, treatment, and training.
(c) The committee shall be responsible for the following:
(1) Collecting and providing to the department the most relevant research, studies, and best practices for the prevention and treatment of sepsis, including any relevant reporting on sepsis morbidity and mortality.
(2) Providing recommendations of best practices for evidence-based sepsis prevention, training, and treatment guidelines for licensed health care facilities and health care professionals.
(d) The department shall establish and maintain a public web-based clearinghouse for information related to sepsis prevention, training, and protocols for licensed health care facilities and agencies. The clearinghouse shall include, but not be limited to, the following information related to sepsis:
(1) Treatment guidelines for providers.
(2) Education and training materials for health facility staff.
(3) References to relevant sepsis morbidity and mortality rates and trends.