HB 1283 – “Patient Safety” Bill – Defeated

April 9, 2010

Earlier this week, HB 1283, a bill designed to thwart efforts by the trial attorneys to increase malpractice caps, was defeated. 

HB 1283 would have required physicians to engage in ongoing “assessment” and professional development activities as part of relicensure, and protected such information from discovery in court cases.  It would have consolidated patient protection provisions under a single section of law, required employers to do background checks on new hires, allowed healthcare providers to share some adverse event information with patients without legal repercussions, and commissioned a study of alternatives to the existing medical liability litigation system.

The CDA had several concerns with the drafting of HB 1283, including several vague definitions which opened the possibility for unintended consequences during implementation of the bill.  In spite of efforts between the CDA and the bill sponsors to address some of these concerns, we ultimately maintained many reservations.  However, the bill was successful in preventing a push to increase medical liability caps this session.