(Doc Name h:\legwork\house\amend\h-wm\001\h2 maternal death info.docx):
EXPLANATION: Requires certain maternal death information be provided to the Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Review Committee
Amend the bill, as and if amended, Part IB, Section 34,
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL, page 374, ,
after line 6, by adding an appropriately numbered paragraph to
read:
/ (DHEC: Maternal Death Information)
The State Registrar of Vital Statistics shall provide to the
Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Review Committee the following
data to assist department staff in identifying maternal death
information:
(A) From
death certificates of women who died within a year of
pregnancy:
(1)
name;
(2)
date and time of death;
(3)
state and county of residence;
(4)
date of birth;
(5)
marital status;
(6)
citizenship status;
(7)
United States armed forces veteran status;
(8)
educational background;
(9)
race and ethnicity;
(10)
date and time of injury;
(11)
place of injury;
(12)
location where injury occurred;
(13)
place of death (facility name and/or
address);
(14)
manner of death;
(15)
whether an autopsy was performed and findings
available as to the cause of death;
(16)
whether tobacco contributed to death;
(17)
primary and contributing causes of death; and
(B) From
birth certificates or fetal death reports linked to the women
for whom data from the aforementioned death certificates, where
available:
(1)
medical record number;
(2)
date of delivery;
(3)
location of event;
(4)
name of mother;
(5)
mother's date of birth;
(6)
mother's race and ethnicity;
(7)
mother's pregnancy history;
(8)
mother's height and weight;
(9)
date of last normal menstrual period;
(10)
date of first prenatal visit;
(11)
number of prenatal visits;
(12)
plurality;
(13)
use of WIC during pregnancy;
(14)
delivery payment method;
(15)
cigarette smoking before and during
pregnancy;
(16)
risk factors during pregnancy;
(17)
infections present or treated during
pregnancy;
(18)
onset of labor;
(19)
obstetric procedures;
(20)
characteristics of labor and delivery;
(21)
maternal morbidity.
(C) The
department must not disclose any information that would identify
the mother or baby with anyone outside the department, including
the committee. Identifying information includes, but may not be
limited to, names, addresses more specific than the county of
residence, medical record numbers, and dates and times of birth
or death.
(D) The
department, or its representatives, on behalf of the committee,
shall:
(1)
extract necessary data elements from death
certificates and birth certificates or fetal death report, as
applicable, and provide de-identified information to the
committee for its review and consideration;
(2)
review and abstract medical records and other
relevant data;
(3)
contact family members and other affected or
involved persons to collect additional data.
(E) The
committee shall:
(1)
review information and records provided by
the department;
(2)
determine whether maternal death cases
reviewed are pregnancy related, as defined as a death within one
year of the pregnancy with a direct or indirect causation
related to the pregnancy or postpartum period;
(3)
consult with relevant experts to evaluate
the records and data;
(4)
make determinations regarding the
preventability of maternal deaths;
(5)
develop recommendations for the prevention
of maternal deaths; and
(6)
disseminate findings and recommendations
pursuant to subsection (F)(J).
(F) (1)
Health care providers and pharmacies
licensed pursuant to Title 40 shall provide reasonable access to
the department and its representatives, on behalf of the
committee, to all relevant medical records associated with a
case under review by the committee.
(2)
A health care provider, health care
facility, or pharmacy providing access to medical records
pursuant to this provision are not liable for civil damages or
subject to criminal or disciplinary action for good faith
efforts in providing the records.
(3)
Coroners and law enforcement shall provide
reasonable access to the department and its representatives, on
behalf of the committee, to all relevant records associated with
a case under review by the committee.
(G) (1)
Information, records, reports, statements,
notes, memoranda, or other data collected pursuant to this
section are not admissible as evidence in any action of any kind
in any court or before another tribunal, board, agency, or
person. The information, records, reports, statements, notes,
memoranda, or other data must not be exhibited nor their
contents disclosed, in whole or in part, by an officer or a
representative of the department or another person, except as
necessary for the purpose of furthering the review of the
committee of the case to which they relate. A person
participating in a review may not disclose the information
obtained except in strict conformity with the review
project.
(2)
All information, records of interviews,
written reports, statements, notes, memoranda, or other data
obtained by the department, the committee, and other persons,
agencies, or organizations authorized by the department pursuant
to this section are confidential.
(H) (1)
All proceedings and activities of the
committee, opinions of members of the committee formed as a
result of the proceedings and activities, and records obtained,
created, or maintained pursuant to this section, including
records of interviews, written reports, and statements procured
by the department or another person, agency, or organization
acting jointly or under contract with the department in
connection with the requirements of this section, are
confidential and are not subject to the provisions of Chapter 4,
Title 30 relating to open meetings or public records, or subject
to subpoena, discovery or introduction into evidence in any
civil or criminal proceeding. However, this section must not be
construed to limit or restrict the right to discover or use in
any civil or criminal proceeding anything that is available from
another source and entirely independent of the committee's
proceedings.
(2)
Members of the committee must not be
questioned in a civil or criminal proceeding regarding the
information presented in or opinions formed as a result of a
meeting or communication of the committee. However, this section
must not be construed to prevent a member of the committee from
testifying to information obtained independently of the
committee or which is public information.
(I)
Reports of aggregated non-individually identifiable data
for the previous calendar year must be compiled and disseminated
by March first of the following year in an effort to further
study the causes and problems associated with maternal deaths.
Reports must be distributed to the General Assembly, the
Director of the Department of Health and Environmental Control,
health care providers and facilities, key governmental agencies,
and others necessary to reduce the maternal death rate.
(J)
Members shall serve without compensation, and are
ineligible for the usual mileage, subsistence, and per diem
allowed by law for members of state boards, committees, and
commissions.
(K) The
department shall apply for and use any available federal or
private monies to help fund the costs associated with
implementing the provisions of this section./
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend totals and titles to conform.