Rep. TOM CAMPBELL (R-Roy)
2nd LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
Olympia office: 334 John L. O'Brien Building
PO Box 40600 Olympia, WA 98504-0600
Office: (360) 786-7912

For immediate release: Feb. 1, 2008

Bills to strengthen health care discipline standard, adverse health events reporting, and 'quack' devices pass House committee

Olympia -- The House Health Care & Wellness Committee passed three measures Thursday that focus on discipline of negligent or incompetent health care providers and improve the quality of health care. Rep. Tom Campbell (R-Roy) sponsored all three measures which won strong approval in the committee.
 
House Bill 1103 gives the state Dept. of Health discipline authority over health care providers who demonstrate negligence, incompetence or criminal actions with patients. The bill requires background checks of health care providers who practice in Washington state and it creates sanctioning guidelines for all boards and commissions.

House Bill 2670 covers adverse health events, such as a surgical clamp or surgery tool left inside a body, removal of the wrong body part, such as amputating the wrong leg, or an unexpected death. Under the measure, hospitals would be required to report such incidents to the Dept. of Health within 48 hours, and DOH would make the information available to the public. It also expands the list of such events that must be disclosed from eight to 26.

The third bill to pass the committee (HB 2816) allows DOH and specific health profession boards and commissions to adopt rules to identify which instruments for treatment or diagnostic evaluation are prohibited for use by health care providers.
 
There have been a number of events where manufacturers and practitioners profited from treating patients with unproven machines, referred to as "quack" devices, that are potentially dangerous or illegal. Recently, the Seattle Times did a series of stories on "Miracle Machines" that misdiagnose diseases and promise cures it cannot meet.

Campbell said he is enthusiastic these three bills will be considered on the House floor as early as next week.

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Contact: Rep. Tom Campbell at (360) 786-7912 or campbell.tom@leg.wa.gov