CT HB05258

Health care professions seeking to advance legislation on scope of practice changes must submit written requests to the Department of Public Health by September 1 annually, effective July 1, 2010.

Scope of practice requests must include plain language descriptions, public health and safety benefits, impact on health care access, applicable laws, regulatory oversight, education requirements, historical scope changes, complaints and disciplinary data, economic impact, regional and national trends, and identification of opposing professions.

The Department of Public Health must notify the joint standing committee on public health of submitted requests by September 15 annually and post requests on its website.

Opposing health care professions may submit written statements by October 1 annually, and requestors must respond by October 15 with descriptions of areas of agreement and disagreement.

The Commissioner of Public Health must establish a scope of practice review committee for each request, consisting of representatives from requesting and opposing professions, two independent licensed health care professionals, a public member, and the commissioner, which shall provide written assessment and legislative recommendations to the joint standing committee by February 1.

Health care professions failing to comply with the submission requirements are prohibited from seeking legislative action on their scope of practice request until in full compliance.

The Commissioner of Public Health must evaluate and report on the effectiveness of these processes to the joint standing committee by September 1, 2013.