Sponsored by:
Senator VIN GOPAL
District 11 (Monmouth)
SYNOPSIS
Requires implicit bias training for physicians.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning health care professional training and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in this act:
“Board of Medical Examiners” or “board” means the State Board of Medical Examiners.
“Physician” means a physician licensed pursuant to Title 45 of the Revised Statutes.
“Implicit bias” means an individual’s prejudice in favor of or against a person or group which manifests itself in an unconscious manner.
2. Within 30 days after the effective date of this act, the Department of Health, in consultation with the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety, the Department of Human Services, and the Board of Medical Examiners, shall establish a list of approved implicit bias training programs and a protocol by which providers of implicit bias training may seek approval of their training programs by the Department of Health. The implicit bias training programs shall, at a minimum, train physicians to recognize and diminish the impact of implicit bias in the practice of medicine, include an overview of current research on implicit bias in the practice of medicine, and include ways to recognize and diminish the impact of implicit bias in order to achieve better health care outcomes.
3. The board shall ensure that a physician completes a minimum of two hours of implicit bias training within two years following the effective date of this act, and a minimum of two hours of implicit bias training every two years thereafter.
4. The Commissioner of Health shall adopt rules and regulations, in accordance with the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as are necessary to effectuate the provisions of this act.
5. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires implicit bias training for physicians biennially.
Under the bill, the Department of Health (department), in consultation with the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety, the Department of Human Services, and the Board of Medical Examiners (board), is to establish a list of approved implicit bias training programs and a protocol by which providers of implicit bias training may seek approval of their training programs by the department. The implicit bias training programs are to, at a minimum, train physicians to recognize and diminish the impact of implicit bias in the practice of medicine, include an overview of current research on implicit bias in the practice of medicine, and include ways to recognize and diminish the impact of implicit bias in order to achieve better health care outcomes.
Under the bill, the board is to ensure that a physician completes a minimum of two hours of implicit bias training within two years following the effective date of this bill, and a minimum of two hours of implicit bias training every two years thereafter. The bill defines “implicit bias” to mean an individual’s prejudice in favor of or against a person or group which manifests itself in an unconscious manner.