Patient Safety Bill SB 820 Passes Final Legislative Test
California Political Desk
September 11, 2009
SACRAMENTO: Senator Sam Aanestad (R-Grass Valley) issued the following statement on the Senate Floor today as he lobbied for the passage of patient safety legislation SB 820.
"I´m proud to be a co-author of this bill – which is designed to strengthen the Medical Peer Review process. It allows for earlier involvement of the Medical Board of California when incompetence or substance abuse or misconduct on the behalf of a physician endangers patient safety. It protects the due process rights of medical professionals and has the support of the Medical Board of California, the California Medical Association and Kaiser Permanente. We finally have a bill that´s not for doctors. It´s not a bill for lawyers. This is a Peer Review bill for patients and I respectfully urge your ´aye´ vote."
SB 820 passed unanimously off the Senate Floor following Senator Aanestad´s presentation, and will be sent to the Governor for his signature.
Both Senator Aanestad and Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-Chino) agreed to serve as co-authors for SB 820, the Patient Safety Act, because both agreed that changes were needed in the process of Medical Peer Review.
The Medical Peer Review process is intended to detect incompetent or unprofessional physicians early and terminate, suspend or limit their practice if necessary. These cases can be triggered by a wide variety of events including incompetence and substance abuse. A peer review committee investigates the allegation, comes to a decision regarding the physician's conduct and takes appropriate remedial actions.
SB 820 was introduced following the conclusion of several studies that were critical of the medical peer review process, including the 2008 Lumetra Comprehensive Study of Peer Review in California and a congressional investigation on Peer Review.
"I´m proud to be a co-author of this bill – which is designed to strengthen the Medical Peer Review process. It allows for earlier involvement of the Medical Board of California when incompetence or substance abuse or misconduct on the behalf of a physician endangers patient safety. It protects the due process rights of medical professionals and has the support of the Medical Board of California, the California Medical Association and Kaiser Permanente. We finally have a bill that´s not for doctors. It´s not a bill for lawyers. This is a Peer Review bill for patients and I respectfully urge your ´aye´ vote."
SB 820 passed unanimously off the Senate Floor following Senator Aanestad´s presentation, and will be sent to the Governor for his signature.
Both Senator Aanestad and Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-Chino) agreed to serve as co-authors for SB 820, the Patient Safety Act, because both agreed that changes were needed in the process of Medical Peer Review.
The Medical Peer Review process is intended to detect incompetent or unprofessional physicians early and terminate, suspend or limit their practice if necessary. These cases can be triggered by a wide variety of events including incompetence and substance abuse. A peer review committee investigates the allegation, comes to a decision regarding the physician's conduct and takes appropriate remedial actions.
SB 820 was introduced following the conclusion of several studies that were critical of the medical peer review process, including the 2008 Lumetra Comprehensive Study of Peer Review in California and a congressional investigation on Peer Review.
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