A07558 Summary:

BILL NOA07558B
 
SAME ASSAME AS S07854
 
SPONSORBarrett
 
COSPNSRRussell, Jaffee, Hikind, Galef, Gottfried, Roberts, Cook, Raia, McLaughlin, Simanowitz, Cahill, Skoufis, Fahy, Rosenthal
 
MLTSPNSRArroyo, Brennan, Crouch, Glick, Lalor, Lupardo, Lupinacci, Mayer, Rivera, Skartados, Solages, Tenney, Thiele, Weisenberg
 
Amd S230, Pub Health L
 
Prohibits the investigation of any claim of medical professional misconduct based solely on treatment that is not universally accepted by the medical profession.
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A07558 Actions:

BILL NOA07558B
 
05/23/2013referred to health
01/08/2014referred to health
04/29/2014amend and recommit to health
04/29/2014print number 7558a
05/06/2014reported
05/08/2014advanced to third reading cal.646
05/12/2014passed assembly
05/12/2014delivered to senate
05/12/2014REFERRED TO HEALTH
06/16/2014recalled from senate
06/16/2014RETURNED TO ASSEMBLY
06/16/2014vote reconsidered - restored to third reading
06/16/2014amended on third reading (t) 7558b
06/19/2014substituted by s7854
 S07854 AMEND= HANNON
 06/14/2014REFERRED TO RULES
 06/18/2014ORDERED TO THIRD READING CAL.1571
 06/18/2014PASSED SENATE
 06/18/2014DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
 06/18/2014referred to health
 06/19/2014substituted for a7558b
 06/19/2014ordered to third reading cal.646
 06/19/2014passed assembly
 06/19/2014returned to senate
 12/05/2014DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR
 12/17/2014SIGNED CHAP.532
 12/17/2014APPROVAL MEMO.27
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A07558 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A7558B
 
SPONSOR: Barrett
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the public health law, in relation to the identification, charging, reporting and investigation of charges of professional misconduct by health care professionals   PURPOSE: To ensure that the Office of Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC) shall not identify, investigate, or charge a practitioner based solely on their recommendation or provision of a treatment modality that is currently not universally accepted by the medical community   SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section one of the bill amends Section 230 of the public health law by adding a new subdivision 9-b to ensure that neither the board for professional medical conduct nor the office of professional medical conduct shall identify, charge, or cause a report made to the director of such office to be investigated based solely upon the recommendation or provision of a treatment modality by a licensee that is not universally accepted by the medical profession, including but not limit- ed to, varying modalities used in the treatment of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases. Section two of the bill provides for an immediate effective date,   JUSTIFICATION: In New York State, the Office of Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC) is charged with ensuring that appropriate medical care is given to all New York residents, through the investigation and prose- cution of professional misconduct by physicians, physician assistants and specialist assistants. Because the medical profession is one that continually evolves with scientific breakthroughs, it is important that the OPMC maintains a flexible, case-specific, investigations policy - particularly where new treatments and acceptance by the medical communi- ty do not align. This has been relevant to concerns raised regarding the investigation of alternative medical treatment of Lyme and tick-borne disease with modal- ities not universally accepted by the medical community. As the debate surrounding acceptable protocols continues, it is important that the State takes a treatment-neutral approach where possible in order to ensure that medical professionals remain the discerning voice in defin- ing appropriate medical care. To that end, recognizing that the determi- nation of appropriate diagnosis and treatment on a case-by-case basis is a responsibility solely held by a medical professional, it is also crit- ical to ensure that bodies such as the OPMC do not inadvertently endorse or preclude innovative treatments with rules that may dissuade medical professionals from pursuing new methods. In a memo dated June 15, 2005, the Director of the Office of Profes- sional Medical Conduct "memorialized and endorse  d" these very princi- ples. The memo, circulated to the staff members of the OPMC advised that so long as a treatment modality effectively treats a medical condition, within certain specifications, its recommendation or provision cannot, by itself constitute professional misconduct. Thus, the determination of effective and appropriate treatment remains in the hands of the proper entity, the medical professional As such, this legislation codifies the existing policy of the OPMC to clarify that the OPMC shall not identify, investigate, or charge a practitioner based solely on their recommenda- tion or provision of a treatment modality that is currently not universally accepted by the medical community.   LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New Bill.   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: No fiscal implications.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately.
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A07558 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         7558--B
                                                                Cal. No. 646
 
                               2013-2014 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                      May 23, 2013
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M.  of A. BARRETT, RUSSELL, JAFFEE, HIKIND, GALEF, GOTT-
          FRIED, ROBERTS, COOK, RAIA, McLAUGHLIN, SIMANOWITZ,  CAHILL,  SKOUFIS,
          FAHY,  ROSENTHAL  --  Multi-Sponsored  by -- M. of A. ARROYO, BRENNAN,
          CROUCH, GLICK, LALOR, LUPARDO, LUPINACCI,  MAYER,  RIVERA,  SKARTADOS,

          SOLAGES,  TENNEY,  THIELE, WEISENBERG -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Health -- recommitted  to  the  Committee  on  Health  in
          accordance  with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill
          amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said  commit-
          tee  --  passed by Assembly and delivered to the Senate, recalled from
          the  Senate,  vote  reconsidered,  bill  amended,  ordered  reprinted,
          retaining its place on the order of third reading
 
        AN  ACT  to  amend the public health law, in relation to the identifica-
          tion, charging, reporting and investigation of charges of professional
          misconduct by health care professionals
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Section 230 of the public health law is amended by adding a

     2  new subdivision 9-b to read as follows:
     3    9-b. Neither the board for professional medical conduct nor the office
     4  of  professional  medical  conduct  shall  identify,  charge, or cause a
     5  report made to the director of such  office  to  be  investigated  based
     6  solely upon the recommendation or provision of a treatment modality by a
     7  licensee  that  is  not  universally accepted by the medical profession,
     8  including but not limited to, varying modalities used in  the  treatment
     9  of  Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases. As used in this subdivi-
    10  sion the term "licensee" shall mean a physician, physician's  assistant,
    11  and  specialist's  assistant. When a licensee, acting in accordance with
    12  paragraph e of subdivision four of section  sixty-five  hundred  twenty-

    13  seven  of the education law, recommends or provides a treatment modality
    14  that effectively treats human disease, pain, injury, deformity or  phys-
    15  ical  condition,  the recommendation or provision of that modality shall
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11023-10-4

        A. 7558--B                          2
 
     1  not, by itself, constitute  professional  misconduct.  This  prohibition
     2  shall not exonerate such licensee from otherwise applicable professional
     3  requirements.
     4    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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