2014 Bills Related to a Variety of Health Issues. Intractable Pain

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1 1. Senate Bill 1820 (Bowling) House Bill 1966 (R. Williams) 2014 Bills Related to a Variety of Health Issues Intractable Pain This bill makes changes to the Intractable Pain Treatment Act passed by the General Assembly in At this time the law was originally passed, it was intended to give physicians assurance that they would not be disciplined for prescribing opiates to relieve the pain of patients with cancer and other conditions causing chronic intractable pain. The changes made by this bill reflect the evolving concerns about prescription drug abuse. The bill adds language to this statute requiring the physician to document informed consent and to discuss risks and benefits when prescribing more than a 72-hour supply of a controlled substance for pain related to a chronic non-malignant condition. The bill requires the physician to discuss the risk of chemical dependency with the patient. The bill provides that a physician may recommend alternative medications for patients with severe chronic intractable pain. The bill states that a physician is not required to prescribe a controlled substance or to refer the patient to a physician who will. 2. Senate Bill 1819 (Bowling) House Bill 1713 (R. Williams) This bill repeals the Intractable Pain Treatment Act in its entirety. 3. Senate Bill 1833 (Yager) House Bill 2229 (Calfee) This bill makes two minor changes in the Intractable Pain Treatment Act. 1. Senate Bill 1629 (Norris) House Bill 1425 (McCormick) Health-Related Boards This bill has two purposes. It amends the practice acts of several professions to make clear that licensure applications and renewal applications can be submitted electronically. The bill also states that investigative materials are not a public record before formal disciplinary charges are filed against a health care provider. Even after charges are filed, only the materials on which the charges are based are a matter of public record. The identity of the complainant

2 and of a witness who requests anonymity, as well as a patient s identifying information and medical record, are not public. Healthcare facility and pharmacy survey inspection reports are public record. 1. Senate Bill 1473 (Overbey) House Bill 2073 (Farmer) Volunteer Health Services This bill makes a minor change in the Volunteer Health Care Services Act, which gives civil immunity to health care providers that provide services at a facility sponsored by an organization that registers with the Department of Health and charges patients on a sliding scale based on income or a fixed fee which does not exceed $10. The bill allows the facility to charge up to $50 per visit. 2. Senate Bill 1674 (Southerland) House Bill 1928 (Goins) This bill adds a definition of free clinic to the Volunteer Health Services Act. The bill provides that free clinics (where there is no charge at all) do not have to register with the Department. 1. Senate Bill 1768 (Burks) House Bill 1656 (Sexton) Nurses This bill allows registered nurses who have successfully completed a RN First Assistant education program which meets the standards of the Association of perioperative Registered Nurses to apply to the Tennessee Board of Nursing for a certificate to practice as a Registered Nurse First Assistant, including the authority to use that title or RNFA. 2. Senate Bill 1754 (Green) House Bill 1556 (Favors) This bill allows nurse practitioners to testify by deposition rather than being subpoenaed to testify in court. TAPA passed a similar bill for PAs in 2012.

3 Cosmetic Procedures 1. Senate Bill 2033 (Hensley) House Bill 1896 (Shipley) This bill requires the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury to prepare a report on the effectiveness of the current rules of the various boards (BME, BON, COPA, and Board of Cosmetology) concerning patient safety during cosmetic procedures. The report must identify deficiencies in the rules regarding lack of oversight in safety protocols and insufficient education or training of those providing cosmetic services. 1. Senate Bill 1853 (Crowe) House Bill 2171 (Rich) Change in Supervising Physician This bill establishes a new procedure whereby a physician may notify the Department of Health that that physician is no longer the supervising physician for a particular nurse practitioner or physician assistant. The nurse practitioner or physician assistant must then provide to the Department of Health the name of his/her current supervising physician. 1. Senate Bill 1697 (Dickerson) House Bill 1465 (Ramsey) Caption Bills This bill allows amendments to any part of Title Senate Bill 1995 (Burks) House Bill 1854 (Faison) This bill allows amendments to Title 56 or 63, relative to health care providers. 1. Senate Bill 1782 (Crowe) House Bill 1495 (R. Williams) Corporate Practice of Medicine This bill allows a community mental health center to employ any physician (except anesthesiologists). Current law allows a community mental health center to hire only a psychiatrist, not other types of physicians.

4 The bill also adds a prohibition on the employment of anesthesiologists by a federally qualified health center. 1. Senate Bill 1445 (Dickerson) House Bill 1383 (Sexton) Administration of Insulin This bill allows school personnel who have been properly trained by a registered nurse to administer daily insulin to students at schools where no public school nurse is available. 1. Senate Bill 2231 (Crowe) House Bill 2456 (Coley) Care for the Uninsured This bill requires the Department of Health to develop a plan for a network of providers to work at clinics associated with local health departments to provide care to the uninsured. The purpose is to provide an alternative to emergency rooms for persons needing non-urgent care. The bill requires public schools of medicine to enter into agreements with local health departments to provide additional resources to help implement this system of care. 1. Senate Bill 2377 (Henry) House Bill 2123 (Stewart) Suicide Prevention This bill is known as the Suicide Prevention Training Act. It requires the Department of Health to develop a list of suicide assessment, treatment, and management programs which are 2-6 hours in length. Beginning in 2016, each of the following professionals must complete such a program once every 6 years: social workers, marriage and family therapists, professional counselors, pastoral counselors, alcohol and drug abuse counselors, psychologists, nurses, occupational therapists, and any other professional working in the field of mental health and substance abuse. 1. Senate Bill 2236 (Tracy) House Bill 2063 (Spivey) Referrals to Out-of-Network Providers This bill requires a physician to provide written notice to a patient if the physician makes a referral or schedules a service with an out-of-network physician, provider, or facility. The notice must be signed by the patient and made available to the patient s health insurer within

5 seven (7) days. The patient may not be billed or charged an amount greater than the in-network rate if that notice is not provided. 1. Senate Bill 1865 (Overbey) House Bill 1884 (Dennis) Nursing Homes This bill requires the Department of Health to establish an independent informal dispute resolution program for nursing homes, as required by the Affordable Care Act. The bill describes the process which must be followed by independent review organizations. 1. Senate Bill 1463 (Norris) House Bill 1881 (Dennis) Standard of Care This bill provides that any criteria, guidelines, or standard established by a third party payor shall not, without expert testimony, be construed as establishing the standard of care. 1. Senate Bill 1886 (Gresham) House Bill 1788 (Kane) Infant Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation This bill revises the law passed last year regarding the provision to parents of information concerning the appropriate use and techniques of infant cardiopulmonary resuscitation. 1. Senate Bill 1825 (Johnson) House Bill 1720 (Sargent) TennCare Providers This bill requires insurers contracting with the TennCare Bureau to demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that they have an adequate network of providers who provide services to children.