INFLUENZA IMMUNIZATION POLICY S.B. 722:
COMMITTEE SUMMARY
[Please see the PDF version of this analysis, if available, to view this image.]
Senate Bill 722 (as introduced 8-5-09)
Sponsor: Senator Roger Kahn, M.D.
Committee: Health Policy
Date Completed: 9-14-09
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Public Health Code to require a hospital to establish an influenza immunization policy, beginning October 1, 2009; and require the hospital to offer the vaccine to all patients who were at least 65 years old or otherwise at risk, under certain circumstances.
A hospital would have to submit a copy of its current policy to the Department of Community Health. A hospital's policy would have to be consistent with guidelines or recommendations issued by the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the CDC.
A hospital would have to include all of the following in its policy:
-- A strategic plan for managing its supply of the influenza vaccine.
-- Procedures for identifying individuals who were at least 65 years old and, at the hospital's discretion, other patients at risk who were admitted to the hospital.
-- Procedures for offering immunization against the influenza virus during the influenza season (i.e., the period between October 1 and March 1) to people who were at least 65 years old and, at the hospital's discretion, other patients at risk who were admitted to the hospital for at least 24 hours.
-- Procedures for ensuring that an individual offered the vaccination or his or her authorized representative received information regarding it3s risks and benefits.
-- A standing order policy approved by the medical director or other appropriate health professional that included an assessment for medical contraindication to administering the vaccination.
-- A system for documenting the influenza vaccination administration, medical contraindications, patient refusals, and any postvaccination adverse events.
During the influenza season, if the hospital had the influenza vaccine available and consistent with its policy, the hospital would have to inform each person who was at least 65 years old or other individual identified in the policy who was admitted for at least 24 hours that the vaccine was available, and offer to provide it to those people for whom it was not medically contraindicative.
If the person consented to be vaccinated against influenza and a physician, nurse, pharmacist, or other independent practicing licensed health care professional determined that there was not a relative or absolute medical contraindication to giving the vaccine, he
or she would have to administer the vaccination before the patient was discharged from the hospital and document it in as prescribed in the influenza immunization policy.
The section added by the bill would be repealed on April 1, 2012
Proposed MCL 333.21529 Legislative Analyst: Julie Cassidy
FISCAL IMPACT
The development and implementation of an influenza immunization policy would impose costs on public hospitals. The most expensive requirement in the bill likely would be the development of a system to document vaccination administration. The cost of this provision should be relatively minor.
Fiscal Analyst: Steve Angelotti
Analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent. sb722/0910