A3934

An Act concerning the use of health information technology products, amending P.L.2007, c.330 and supplementing Titles 26 and 45 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. (New section) The Legislature finds and declares that:

a. Health information technology, known as HIT, has been widely recognized in the health care community and among policymakers as having great potential to contribute to the attainment of affordable, safe, and accessible health care;

b. HIT has the potential to allow comprehensive management of medical information and the secure exchange of such information between health care consumers and providers, which could improve patient care and help individuals maintain their health through better management of their health information, while also yielding public health benefits by facilitating the detection and tracking of disease and comparative evaluation of health care quality and costs among providers;

c. The ability to collect and exchange health information electronically can play a significant role in enhancing the public health and the quality and efficiency of health care delivery by facilitating improvements in public health monitoring, patient safety, quality improvement, provider performance comparisons, and consumer decision-making;

d. The widespread and effective use of HIT offers the promise of reducing the number of prescription drug errors and other preventable adverse events and, thereby, reducing unnecessary health care costs and preventing needless injury and death among patients, while resulting in a more efficient and cost-effective health care system;

e. The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology, known as CCHIT, is a private nonprofit organization with the sole public mission of accelerating the adoption of robust, interoperable HIT by creating a credible, efficient certification process;

f. CCHIT was recognized by the federal Department of Health and Human Services as a certifying body in 2006, and is the only organization to have received federal approval to certify HIT products; and the department has since renewed its recognition of CCHIT annually;

g. The widespread and effective use of HIT is vital for improving health care delivery, and the interoperability of the electronic health information infrastructure is essential to achieve the potential benefits from HIT use;

h. The use of CCHIT-certified products in New Jersey will lead to that interoperability by which various entities in the health care system nationwide can exchange data accurately, effectively, securely, and consistently; and

i. A prohibition on the sale or distribution in this State of HIT products that have not been certified by CCHIT will expedite the widespread use of CCHIT-certified products in New Jersey and thereby advance the public interest to be served by the development of an improved health care delivery system through the implementation of an effective, secure, and interoperable electronic health information infrastructure.

2. (New section) a. No person or entity, either directly or indirectly, shall sell, offer for sale, give, furnish, or otherwise distribute to any person or entity in this State a health information technology product that has not been certified by the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology.

As used in this section, "health information technology product" means a system, program, application, or other product that is based upon technology which is used to electronically collect, store, retrieve, and transfer clinical, administrative, and financial health information.

b. A person or entity that violates the provisions of subsection a. of this section shall be liable to a civil penalty of not less than $1,000 for the first violation, not less than $2,500 for the second violation, and $5,000 for the third and each subsequent violation, to be collected pursuant to the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.).

3. Section 8 of P.L.2007, c.330 (C.17:1D-1) is amended to read as follows:

8. a. There is established in the Department of Banking and Insurance the Office for the Development, Implementation, and Deployment of Electronic Health Information Technology in New Jersey, to be known as the Office for e-HIT.

b. The Office for e-HIT, in collaboration with the Health Information Technology Commission, shall develop, implement, and oversee the operation of a Statewide health information technology plan.

(1) The plan shall provide for, but not be limited to, a mechanism designed to support the establishment of a secure, integrated, interoperative, and Statewide electronic health information infrastructure for the sharing of electronic health information and electronic health records among health care facilities, health care professionals, public and private payers, and patients, which:

(a) utilizes products that have been certified by the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology;

(b) complies with all State and federal privacy requirements; and

(c) links all components of the health care delivery system through secure and appropriate exchanges of health information for the purpose of enhancing health care quality, patient safety, communication of patient information, disease management capabilities, patient and provider satisfaction, clinical and administrative cost reductions, fraud and abuse prevention and detection, and public health emergency preparedness.

(2) The plan shall also provide for the designation of a custodian for all protected health information that meets federal and State privacy and security laws and is accredited by a national standard setting organization recognized by the department.

c. The Office for e-HIT shall submit the plan to the Health Information Technology Commission for the commission's review and approval.

d. In collaboration with the commission, the Office for e-HIT shall, no later than 18 months after its initial meeting and annually thereafter, submit a joint report to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), concerning its activities and the status, and actions taken regarding development, implementation, and oversight, of the Statewide health information technology plan. The office shall include in that report any findings and recommendations that it desires to make, along with any legislative bills that it desires to recommend for adoption by the Legislature.

(cf: P.L.2007, c.330, s.8)

4. (New section) a. The Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, in consultation with the Office for e-HIT in the Department of Banking and Insurance and the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety, shall require that, on or after a date to be determined by the Office for e-HIT and in accordance with requirements established by that office pursuant to and in furtherance of the purposes of subparagraph (a) of paragraph (1) of subsection b. of section 8 of P.L.2007, c.330 (C.17:1D-1), each health care facility licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.) shall purchase, rent, lease, or otherwise acquire for use by that facility only those health information technology products that have been certified by the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology.

b. The commissioner, pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), and in consultation with the Office for e-HIT and the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety, shall adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this section.

5. (New section) a. The Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety, in consultation with the Office for e-HIT in the Department of Banking and Insurance and the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, shall require that, on or after a date to be determined by the Office for e-HIT and in accordance with requirements established by that office pursuant to and in furtherance of the purposes of subparagraph (a) of paragraph (1) of subsection b. of section 8 of P.L.2007, c.330 (C.17:1D-1), each health care professional who is licensed or otherwise authorized, pursuant to Title 45 or Title 52 of the Revised Statutes, to practice a health care profession that is regulated by a professional and occupational licensing board within the division or by the director, shall purchase, rent, lease, or otherwise acquire for use in that person’s professional practice only those health information technology products that have been certified by the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology.

b. The director, pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), and in consultation with the Office for e-HIT and the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, shall adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this section.

6. Sections 1 and 2 of this act shall take effect on January 1, 2011; section 3 of this act shall take effect immediately; and sections 4 and 5 of this act shall take effect on the 180th day after enactment, but the Office for e-HIT, the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, and the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as shall be necessary for the implementation of these sections.

STATEMENT

This bill provides for the use of certain health information technology (HIT) products under the Statewide HIT plan, which, pursuant to the “New Jersey Health Information Technology Act,” P.L.2007, c.330 (C.26:1A-132 et al.), is to be developed, implemented, and overseen by the Office for e-HIT in the Department of Banking and Insurance.

The purpose of this bill is to ensure that health care facilities and providers on a prospective basis (after a date to be determined as specified in the bill), when they acquire HIT products - either to perform a function that was not previously carried out by means of HIT by the facility or provider, or to replace a HIT product that was previously utilized by the facility or provider - will acquire those products that have been certified by the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT).

CCHIT, which is a private nonprofit organization with the sole public mission of accelerating the adoption of robust, interoperable HIT by creating a credible, efficient certification process, was recognized by the federal Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) as a certifying body in 2006 and is the only organization to have received federal approval to certify HIT products. DHHS has since renewed its recognition of CCHIT annually.

This bill is premised on a recognition that the widespread and effective use of HIT is vital for improving health care delivery and that the interoperability of the electronic health information infrastructure is essential to achieve the potential benefits from HIT use. The required use of CCHIT-certified products in New Jersey and other states will lead to that interoperability by which various entities in the health care system nationwide can exchange data accurately, effectively, securely, and consistently.

The bill provides specifically as follows:

· On or after January 1, 2011, no person or entity is permitted to sell, offer for sale, give, furnish, or otherwise distribute to any person or entity in this State a health information technology product that has not been certified by CCHIT. A person or entity that violates this provision is liable to a civil penalty of not less than $1,000 for the first violation, not less than $2,500 for the second violation, and $5,000 for the third and each subsequent violation, to be collected pursuant to the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.).

· The bill defines "health information technology product" to mean a system, program, application, or other product that is based upon technology which is used to electronically collect, store, retrieve, and transfer clinical, administrative, and financial health information.

· The Statewide HIT plan is to support the establishment of a Statewide electronic health information infrastructure which utilizes products that have been certified by CCHIT.

· The Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, in consultation with the Office for e-HIT and the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety, is to require that, on or after a date to be determined by the Office for e-HIT and in accordance with requirements established by that office pursuant to and in furtherance of the purposes of the Statewide HIT plan, each licensed health care facility is to purchase, rent, lease, or otherwise acquire for use by that facility only those HIT products that have been certified by CCHIT.

· The Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs, in consultation with the Office for e-HIT and the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, is to require that, on or after a date to be determined by the Office for e-HIT and in accordance with requirements established by that office pursuant to and in furtherance of the purposes of the Statewide HIT plan, each health care professional who is licensed or otherwise authorized to practice a health care profession in this State is to purchase, rent, lease, or otherwise acquire for use in that person’s professional practice only those HIT products that have been certified by CCHIT.

· The provisions of the bill governing the required acquisition of CCHIT-certified HIT products by health care providers, on or after a date to be determined in the manner provided for in the bill, take effect on the 180th day after enactment, but authorize the Office for e-HIT, the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, and the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs to take anticipatory administrative action in advance as necessary for implementation.