Bill Text - HB469 (2017)

(New Title) establishing a continuous quality improvement program for pharmacies, relative to vaccines administered by pharmacists, and relative to the authority of the insurance department on federal health care reform.


Revision: Jan. 27, 2017, 9:07 a.m.

HB 469 - AS INTRODUCED

 

 

2017 SESSION

17-0661

10/01

 

HOUSE BILL 469

 

AN ACT establishing a continuous quality improvement program for pharmacies.

 

SPONSORS: Rep. P. Schmidt, Straf. 19; Rep. Patten, Merr. 17

 

COMMITTEE: Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs

 

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ANALYSIS

 

This bill requires licensed pharmacies to establish continuous quality improvement programs to identify weaknesses in processes and systems and make appropriate corrections.

 

This bill is a request of the pharmacy board.

 

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

17-0661

10/01

 

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

 

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seventeen

 

AN ACT establishing a continuous quality improvement program for pharmacies.

 

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

 

1  New Section; Continuous Quality Improvement.  Amend RSA 318 by inserting after section 45 the following new section:

318:45-a  Continuous Quality Improvement.

I.  Each licensed pharmacy shall establish a continuous quality improvement  program (CQI).  The purpose of the program shall be to assess errors that occur in the pharmacy during the review, preparation, and dispensing of prescription medications and to allow the pharmacy to take appropriate action to prevent or reduce the likelihood of a recurrence.  The program is non-punitive and seeks to identify weaknesses in processes and systems, in order to make appropriate corrections to improve them.

II.  A CQI program may be comprised of staff members of the pharmacy, including pharmacists, registered pharmacy interns, registered pharmacy technicians, clerical staff, and other personnel deemed necessary by the pharmacist in charge or the consultant pharmacist of record.

III.  A CQI program shall require that the pharmacist in charge or the consultant pharmacist of record ensure that a review of quality-related events occurs at least every 3 months, contain a planned process to record and assess quality related events, include a process for documenting actions to improve the quality of patient care, and maintain a summary of the documented actions.  The review should consider environment and systems-based contributing factors.

IV.  Each quality-related event shall be documented in a written record or computer database created solely for that purpose.  The quality-related event shall be initially documented by the individual who discovers the event or to whom it is reported.  Documentation of a quality related events shall include a description of the event that is sufficient to permit categorization and analysis of the event.  Pharmacies shall maintain such records at least until the event has been considered and incorporated in a summary of documented actions.

V.  As a component of its CQI program, each licensed pharmacy shall assure that, following a quality-related event, all reasonably necessary steps have been taken to prevent or minimize patient harm.

VI.  CQI programs shall be confidential.  The summarization document shall analyze process improvements undertaken following a quality-related event.  No patient names or employee names shall be included in this summarization.  The summarization shall be maintained for 4 years.  Continuous quality improvement records shall be considered peer-review documents and not subject to discovery in civil litigation or administrative actions.

VII.  The board may establish by rules adopted under RSA 541-A program requirements and recordkeeping requirements of a pharmacy CQI program.

2  Effective Date.  This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.