Bill > HB05514

This bill makes various revisions to public health statutes, including expanding the definition of "institution" to include dependent family members enrolled in an institution's health plan, establishing a working group to advise on managed residential communities and assisted living services, and allowing nonprofit organizations to deliver optical glasses to authorized representatives if the wearer is unavailable. It also mandates that healthcare providers notify patients about medical record retention policies and how to request copies, modifies the composition of the Long-Term Care Advisory Council, and updates the advisory committee for certain health care facilities. The bill requires continuing education for licensees, including training on Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and infection control, and revises regulations for small community sewerage systems and subsurface sewage disposal systems, including provisions for nitrogen removal technology. It also streamlines the process for issuing veterinary licenses by endorsement and temporary permits, establishes a veterinary telemedicine working group, and requires hospitals to consider nutritional needs for patients with diabetes and congestive heart failure in their community health needs assessments. Furthermore, the bill allows hospitals to administer buprenorphine or methadone in emergency departments for patients with opioid use disorder, offers opioid antagonists at discharge, and refers patients to treatment programs, and establishes a working group on endometriosis to evaluate and recommend improvements in its diagnosis, treatment, research, education, and public awareness. It also creates an advisory council on chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy and other gene therapies for cancer treatment, and updates requirements for health assessments for public school students, including specific screenings for cardiac conditions for student athletes. The bill also mandates that local and regional school boards provide free health assessments to eligible students and establishes a framework for sharing minor patient safety plans between healthcare providers and schools via secure messaging systems. Additionally, it aims to improve the state's Health Information Exchange by including a secure messaging system for schools to receive patient safety plans, and revises definitions and procedures related to nurse's aides, including abuse and neglect reporting. The bill also enacts the Recognition of Emergency Medical Services Personnel Licensure Interstate Compact, allowing for mutual recognition of EMS licenses across member states, and requires criminal history record checks for applicants for certain health professional licenses. Finally, it mandates the development of guidance for extreme weather protocols for unhoused individuals, allows dentists to administer cosmetic injections to the face under specific conditions, and updates continuing education requirements for dental professionals, including new mandatory topics.