STAND. COM. REP. NO. 532

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 1674

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 1674 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to encourage the use telecommunication technology while providing quality radiological services for Hawaii.

 

     Specifically, this measure allows medical practitioners in radiology licensed to practice in another state, to provide radiology services by telemedicine while in Hawaii to a patient who is located in the state by which the medical practitioner is licensed to practice radiology.

 

     The measure also makes numerous technical, nonsubstantive amendments to the laws relating to the practice of medicine and surgery and radiologic technology.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Maui Economic Development Board, Inc. and The Pacific Resource Partnership.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Health.  The Board of Medical Examiners submitted comments on this measure.

 

     Your Committee finds that this is a housekeeping measure that enables radiologists to practice radiology via telecommunications to patients from this State to the state of licensure.  Your Committee believes that radiologists should not be required to obtain Hawaii licensure if services are not being provided to patients in the State.

 

     Your Committee amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Deleting the references to "medical practitioners in radiology" and inserting "radiologists duly licensed to practice medicine", for clarification because physicians are not licensed by specialty; and

 

     (2)  Clarifying that "radiologist" means a doctor of medicine or a doctor of osteopathy certified in radiology by the American Board of Radiology or the American Board of Osteopathy.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1674, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1674, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Affordable Housing.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,

 

 

 

____________________________

DAVID Y. IGE, Chair