95
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.R. NO.              H.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     HOUSE RESOLUTION

  REQUESTING THE PATIENTS' BILL OF RIGHTS TASK FORCE TO STUDY THE
    ADVISABILITY AND FEASIBILITY OF CREATING A DATA BANK WITH
    PROVIDER INFORMATION FOR ACCESS BY HEALTH CARE CONSUMERS.


 1        WHEREAS, a patient's selection of a health care provider
 2   is an important decision from the standpoint of a health
 3   consumer's perspective; and
 4   
 5        WHEREAS, selection of a health care provider could affect
 6   the right diagnosis or proper treatment of an illness or
 7   disease, and could literally mean a life or death decision for
 8   the patient; and 
 9   
10        WHEREAS, there is no easily accessible source in Hawaii
11   for information about health care providers that would give a
12   patient important information and some insight about a health
13   care provider, whom the patient may consider selecting for the
14   patient or the patient's family; and
15   
16        WHEREAS, according to a comprehensive survey conducted by
17   OmniTrak Group, Inc., a local polling company, Hawaii residents
18   strongly favor having access to more information about their
19   health care providers, other than through the usual provider
20   referrals, word-of-mouth, or yellow page listings; and
21   
22        WHEREAS, an Omnitrak survey of health consumers found that
23   the following percentages want the following information on
24   health care providers:
25   
26        (1)  83% about board certification in a specialty;
27   
28        (2)  81% about medical education;
29   
30        (3)  79% about criminal convictions;
31   
32        (4)  78% about licensure restrictions in Hawaii or in
33             other states;
34   
35        (5)  73% about physician scores on quality care
36             measurements;
37   
38        (6)  72% about satisfaction ratings by other patients; and

 
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                                  H.R. NO.              H.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        


 1        (7)  72% about successful lawsuits by patients;
 2   
 3   and
 4   
 5        WHEREAS, the Pew Health Professions Commission recommends
 6   that professional licensing boards provide public information
 7   relevant to a licensee upon request, in a clear and
 8   comprehensive manner; and
 9   
10        WHEREAS, a health care provider's right to privacy must be
11   balanced against a consumer's right to know about that
12   provider; and
13   
14        WHEREAS, Act 178, Session Laws of Hawaii (SLH) 1998,
15   required the Insurance Commissioner to convene a task force
16   comprising various members from the public and private sectors
17   to review various laws that provide protection of patient's
18   rights and responsibilities with regard to health care; now,
19   therefore,
20   
21        BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
22   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
23   of 1999, that the task force created by Act 178, SLH 1998,
24   study the advisability and feasibility of creating a data bank
25   with provider information for access by health care consumers;
26   and
27   
28        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force report its
29   findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than
30   twenty days before the commencement of the Regular Session of
31   2000, which shall include the following:
32   
33        (1)  Assessment of the demand for health care provider
34             information;
35   
36        (2)  Current information about health care providers that
37             are available from state agencies;
38   
39        (3)  Issues relating to protecting the privacy rights of
40             health care providers;
41   
42        (4)  Designation of the appropriate state agency, or
43             creation of a new agency, to disseminate information
44             about health care providers;

 
 
 
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 1        (5)  Assessment of the costs of providing public
 2             information about health care providers; and
 3   
 4        (6)  Recommendations for legislative enactments or for
 5             administrative rule changes, or both;
 6   
 7   and
 8   
 9        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
10   Resolution be transmitted to the Insurance Commissioner,
11   Director of Health, Administrator of the Disabilities
12   Compensation Division of the Department of Labor and Industrial
13   Relations, Hawaii Medical Service Association, Kaiser
14   Permanente, American Association of Retired Persons, Hawaii
15   Coalition for Health, Legal Aid Society of Hawaii, Hawaii
16   Medical Association, Hawaii Nurses' Association, and Healthcare
17   Association of Hawaii.