Senate Bill 346 - Medical Harm Disclosure Act

• Health care facilities (hospitals and long-term care facilities) must report medical harm events to the Department of Health and Senior Services within 5 days of detection, or within 24 hours if an ongoing urgent threat exists.

• Medical harm events include surgical complications, medication errors, device malfunctions, care management failures (such as stage 3-4 pressure ulcers), environmental deaths, and unexpected deaths during medical care.

• Department must establish a Medical Harm Reporting Advisory Committee with majority representation from non-facility interests and publish annual reports on facility-specific medical harm events, available to the public on the department website; first report due by December 31, 2012.

• Health care facilities failing to report medical harm events may be assessed civil penalties up to $100 per day after the initial reporting period, with enforcement conducted as a condition of licensure.

• Creates the Patient Safety Trust Fund, funded by gifts, donations, and annual patient safety surcharges on health care facility licensing fees, to support regulatory oversight and independent audits of reporting accuracy every three years.