Bill Text: CA AB40 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Emergency medical services.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-10-13 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 793, Statutes of 2023. [AB40 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB40-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Emergency medical services.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-10-13 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 793, Statutes of 2023. [AB40 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB40-Introduced.html
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 40
| Introduced by Assembly Member Rodriguez |
December 05, 2022 |
An act to add Section 53112.5 to the Government Code, and to add Sections 1797.120.5, 1797.120.6, and 1797.260 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to emergency services.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 40, as introduced, Rodriguez.
Emergency medical services.
Existing law, the Emergency Medical Services System and the Prehospital Emergency Medical Care Personnel Act, creates the Emergency Medical Services Authority, which is responsible for the coordination of various state activities concerning emergency medical services. Among other duties, existing law requires the authority to develop planning and implementation guidelines for EMS systems, provide technical assistance to existing agencies, counties, and cities for the purpose of developing the components of EMS systems, and receive plans for the implementation of EMS and trauma care systems from local EMS agencies. Existing law makes a violation of the act or regulations adopted pursuant to the act punishable as a misdemeanor.
This bill would require the authority to develop an electronic signature for use between the emergency department medical
personnel at a receiving facility and the transporting emergency medical personnel that captures the points in time when the hospital receives notification of ambulance arrival and when transfer of care is executed for documentation of ambulance patient offload time, as defined. The bill would require the authority to develop a statewide standard of 20 minutes, 90% of the time, for ambulance patient offload time. The bill would also require the authority to develop an audit tool to improve data accuracy regarding transfer of care, as specified, and to provide technical assistance and funding as needed, subject to an appropriation, for small rural hospitals and volunteer EMS providers to implement these provisions. The bill would require the authority to adopt emergency regulations to implement these provisions on or before March 1, 2024.
The bill would require the authority, on or before March 1, 2024, to establish a working group of various stakeholders to review,
update, and publish a toolkit to reduce patient offload delays in the emergency department.
The bill would additionally require local EMS agencies to create, in collaboration with local hospitals, a joint plan to respond to surges in demand for medical services and to submit the joint plans to the authority on or before March 1, 2024.
Because the bill would create new requirements within the act, thereby expanding the scope of an existing crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Existing law, the Warren-911-Emergency Assistance Act, requires each local public agency within its respective jurisdiction to establish a basic system that automatically connects a person dialing 911 to an established public safety answering point through normal telephone service facilities.
This bill would require the Emergency Services
Medical Authority, on or before March 1, 2024, to develop a public education campaign related to the use of the 911 service and other tools for access to care.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 53112.5 is added to the Government Code, to read:53112.5.
On or before March 1, 2024, the Emergency Medical Services Authority shall develop, in partnership with local public health departments, a public education campaign related to use of the 911 service and other tools for access to care. This shall include public service announcements and educational material.SEC. 2.
Section 1797.120.5 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:1797.120.5.
(a) (1) The authority shall develop a California Emergency Medical Services Information System requirement for an electronic signature for use between the emergency department medical personnel at a receiving facility and the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), Advanced Emergency Medical Technician (AEMT), or Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic (EMT-P) that captures the points in time when the hospital receives notification of ambulance arrival and when transfer of care is executed for documentation of ambulance patient offload time, as defined by Section 1797.120.(2) The signature shall be collected when physical transfer of the patient occurs and the report is given to hospital staff and shall note ambulance
arrival time at the hospital.
(b) The authority shall develop a statewide standard of 20 minutes, 90 percent of the time, for ambulance patient offload time.
(c) The authority shall develop an audit tool to improve data accuracy of transfer of care with validation from hospitals and local EMS agencies.
(d) The authority shall provide technical assistance and funding as needed, subject to an appropriation, for small rural hospitals and volunteer EMS providers to implement this section.
(e) On or before March 1, 2024, the authority shall adopt emergency regulations to implement this section. The emergency regulations adopted pursuant to this section shall be adopted in accordance with Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of
Title 2 of the Government Code, and, for purposes of that chapter, including Section 11349.6 of the Government Code, the adoption of the regulations is an emergency and shall be considered by the Office of Administrative Law as necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, and general welfare.
