H 4496 Session 109 (1991-1992)
H 4496 General Bill, By D.A. Wright, R.A. Barber, J.M. Baxley, R.S. Corning,
K.G. Kempe, S.G. Manly, Sharpe, D.C. Waldrop, C.C. Wells and J.B. Wilder
A Bill to amend the Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, by adding Chapter
38, Title 44, so as to enact the South Carolina Head and Spinal Cord Injury
Information System Act establishing the South Carolina Head and Spinal Cord
Injury Information System which creates a central information surveillance and
registry system, by establishing a Council to the System, to provide for the
members of the Council and to provide for their powers and duties, to require
reporting of certain patient information related to head and spinal cord
injuries, to provide for confidentiality and procedures for obtaining release
of information and consent, to provide penalties, to provide for an
implementation date, to provide for the temporary placement and staffing of
the System at the Interagency Office of Disability Prevention within the State
Department of Mental Retardation, and to provide that funding for the first
two years must be provided by a grant from the Center for Disease Control
received by the Interagency Office of Disability Prevention.
03/04/92 House Introduced and read first time HJ-19
03/04/92 House Referred to Committee on Medical, Military,
Public and Municipal Affairs HJ-20
04/16/92 House Committee report: Favorable with amendment
Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs HJ-6
05/06/92 House Debate adjourned until Thursday, May 14, 1992 HJ-32
05/14/92 House Debate adjourned until Tuesday, May 19, 1992 HJ-302
05/19/92 House Debate adjourned until Thursday, May 21, 1992 HJ-52
05/21/92 House Debate adjourned until Tuesday, May 26, 1992 HJ-40
05/21/92 House Reconsidered HJ-46
05/21/92 House Tabled HJ-46
COMMITTEE REPORT
April 16, 1992
H. 4496
Introduced by REPS. Wright, Wilder, Baxley, Manly, Kempe, Corning,
Sharpe, Waldrop, Wells and Barber
S. Printed 4/16/92--H.
Read the first time March 4, 1992.
THE COMMITTEE ON MEDICAL,
MILITARY, PUBLIC AND MUNICIPAL
AFFAIRS
To whom was referred a Bill (H. 4496), to amend the Code of Laws
of South Carolina, 1976, by adding Chapter 38, Title 44 so as to enact
the South Carolina Head and Spinal Cord Injury Information System
Act, etc., respectfully
REPORT:
That they have duly and carefully considered the same, and
recommend that the same do pass with amendment:
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking all after the enacting
words and inserting:
/SECTION 1. Title 44 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"CHAPTER 38
Head and Spinal Cord Injury Information System
Section 44-38-10. There is created the South Carolina Head and
Spinal Cord Injury Information System to provide a central information
surveillance system and registry for head and spinal cord injuries.
Section 44-38-20. As used in this chapter:
(1) `Council' means the South Carolina Head and Spinal Cord Injury
Information System Council established pursuant to this chapter.
(2) `Head injury' means an insult to the skull or brain, not of a
degenerative or congenital nature, but one caused by an external
physical force that may produce a diminished or altered state of
consciousness which results in impairment of cognitive abilities or
physical functioning and possibly in behavioral or emotional
functioning. It does not include cerebral vascular accidents and
aneurysms.
(3) `Spinal cord injury' means an acute, traumatic lesion of neural
elements in the spinal canal resulting in any degree of sensory deficit,
motor deficit, or major life functions. The deficit or dysfunction may be
temporary or permanent.
(4) `System' means the South Carolina Head and Spinal Cord
Injury Information System established pursuant to this chapter.
Section 44-38-30. (A) There is the South Carolina Head and
Spinal Cord Injury Information System Council established for the
purpose of overseeing the daily activities of the system. The council is
composed of the following ex officio members or their designees: the
chairman, Developmental Disabilities Council, Office of the Governor,
the chairman of the Joint Committee to Study the Problems of Persons
with Disabilities, the State Commissioner of the State Department of
Mental Health, the Commissioner of the State Agency of the Department
of Vocational Rehabilitation, the Commissioner of the State Department
of Mental Retardation, the Commissioner of the South Carolina
Department of Health and Environmental Control, the Executive
Director of the South Carolina Health and Human Services Finance
Commission, the Dean of the University of South Carolina School of
Medicine, the Dean of the Medical University of South Carolina, the
Executive Director of the South Carolina Hospital Association, one
representative from each of the head injury advocacy organizations, and
one individual with a spinal cord injury. The council shall elect a
chairman who may appoint such other nonvoting members who may
serve in an advisory capacity to the council, including representatives
from the private service delivery sector.
(B) Members of the council shall receive no compensation,
including subsistence, per diem, or mileage for service on the council.
Section 44-38-40. In carrying out the purposes of this chapter the
council shall:
(1) determine and implement the most cost effective method:
(a) to collect, record, analyze, and disseminate data on the
incidence and causes of head and spinal cord injuries;
(b) to gather such other data as needed from existing sources
of the South Carolina Statewide Hospital Data System and the Trauma
Registry of the Division of Emergency medical Services;
(2) provide information for initiation of case management
services and preventive programs for head and spinal cord injured
persons in this State;
(3) develop and promote primary prevention programs related to
preventing head and spinal cord injuries;
(4) perform other duties and functions as determined by the
council to be necessary for implementation of this chapter.
Section 44-38-50. The council shall develop:
(1) reporting forms and procedures for reporting the information
required by this chapter;
(2) a system to provide follow up to individuals entered in the
registry; and
(3) procedures for gathering information from other states in
which a South Carolina resident may be admitted for a head or spinal
cord injury, or both;
(4) procedures for approving research projects or participation in
research activities.
Section 44-38-60. (A) All reports and records made pursuant to
this chapter and maintained by the system, any agency, hospital,
institution, other facility, or person pursuant to this chapter are
confidential and may not be disclosed under the Freedom of Information
Act. Information must not be released except to:
(1) appropriate staff of the system;
(2) submitting hospitals or their designees;
(3) a person engaged in a research project approved pursuant
to Section 44-38-50 except that no information identifying a subject of
a report or a reporter may be made available to a researcher unless
consent is obtained pursuant to this section;
(4) a member of the council, except that no information
identifying a subject of a report or a reporter may be made to the council
unless consent is obtained pursuant to this section.
(B) The identity of a patient, physician, or hospital is confidential
and may not be released, except that the identity of a patient may be
released upon informed written consent of the patient, or the patient's
legal guardian or legal representative; the identity of a physician may be
released upon written consent of the physician; and the identity of a
hospital may be released upon written consent of the hospital.
Section 44-38-70. The council shall submit an annual report to the
Joint Committee to Study Problems of Persons with Disabilities
including, but not limited to, the incidence and status of head and spinal
cord injuries in South Carolina, the administration of the system and
recommendations for modifications in the system and for improving the
delivery of services to persons with these injuries.
Section 44-38-80. No person, medical facility, or other
organization providing information or releasing in accordance with this
chapter may be held liable in a civil or criminal action for divulging
confidential information unless the individual or organization acted in
bad faith or with malicious purpose.
Section 44-38-90. A person subject to this chapter who
intentionally fails to comply with reporting or confidentiality and
disclosure requirements of this chapter is subject to a civil penalty of not
more than one hundred dollars for the first violation time a person fails
to comply and not more than five thousand dollars for a subsequent
violation."
SECTION 2. The South Carolina Head and Spinal Cord Injury
Information System as established in Section 1 of this act must be fully
operational by July 1, 1993.
SECTION 3. The South Carolina Head and Spinal Cord Injury
Information System as established by Section 1 of this act is initially and
temporarily placed within and staffed and administered by the
Interagency Office of Disability Prevention currently located within the
State Department of Mental Retardation. The South Carolina Head and
Spinal Cord Injury Information System Council, with the assistance of
the Interagency Office of Disability Prevention, shall evaluate and
recommend to the Joint Committee to Study the Problems of Persons
with Disabilities by July 1, 1993, the most appropriate permanent
placement for the South Carolina Head and Spinal Cord Injury
Information System.
SECTION 4. Funding for the first two years of the South Carolina
Head and Spinal Cord Injury Information System must be provided by
funds available to the Interagency Office of Disability Prevention
through a Center for Disease Control grant.
SECTION 5. This act takes effect upon approval by the
Governor./
Amend title to conform.
DAVE C. WALDROP, JR., for Committee.
STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED FISCAL
IMPACT
1. Estimated Cost to State-First Year $-0-
2. Estimated Cost to State-Annually
Thereafter $Indeterminate
H. 4496 amends the 1976 Code of Laws of South Carolina by adding
Chapter 38 to Title 44. The bill establishes the South Carolina Head and
Spinal Cord Injury Information System, a central information and
surveillance system. H. 4496 also establishes a council to develop rules
and procedures for establishment of the System and to oversee its daily
activities. Council members will not be reimbursed for their services.
Initially and temporarily, the System will be located in and administered
by the Interagency Office of Disability Development in the Department
of Mental Retardation. By July 1, 1993, the System Council will make
recommendations to the Joint Committee to Study the Problems of
Persons with Disabilities as to the permanent location and placement of
the Information System. H. 4496 also specifies that funding for the first
two years of the Information System must come from federal grant funds
available to the Department of Mental Retardation.
Under the provisions just specified, enactment of H. 4496, as written,
will have no fiscal impact on the General Fund during the first two years
of its establishment and operation. Subsequently, the impact on the
General Fund is indeterminate since it will depend on the scope and
status of the Information System's activities as well as the continued
availability of federal grant funds.
Prepared By: Approved By:
Aaron Krute George N. Dorn, Jr.
State Budget Analyst State Budget Division
A BILL
TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976,
BY ADDING CHAPTER 38, TITLE 44 SO AS TO ENACT THE
SOUTH CAROLINA HEAD AND SPINAL CORD INJURY
INFORMATION SYSTEM ACT ESTABLISHING THE SOUTH
CAROLINA HEAD AND SPINAL CORD INJURY INFORMATION
SYSTEM WHICH CREATES A CENTRAL INFORMATION
SURVEILLANCE AND REGISTRY SYSTEM, BY ESTABLISHING
A COUNCIL TO THE SYSTEM, TO PROVIDE FOR THE MEMBERS
OF THE COUNCIL AND TO PROVIDE FOR THEIR POWERS AND
DUTIES, TO REQUIRE REPORTING OF CERTAIN PATIENT
INFORMATION RELATED TO HEAD AND SPINAL CORD
INJURIES, TO PROVIDE FOR CONFIDENTIALITY AND
PROCEDURES FOR OBTAINING RELEASE OF INFORMATION
AND CONSENT, TO PROVIDE PENALTIES; TO PROVIDE FOR AN
IMPLEMENTATION DATE, TO PROVIDE FOR THE TEMPORARY
PLACEMENT AND STAFFING OF THE SYSTEM AT THE
INTERAGENCY OFFICE OF DISABILITY PREVENTION WITHIN
THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL RETARDATION, AND
TO PROVIDE THAT FUNDING FOR THE FIRST TWO YEARS
MUST BE PROVIDED BY A GRANT FROM THE CENTER FOR
DISEASE CONTROL RECEIVED BY THE INTERAGENCY OFFICE
OF DISABILITY PREVENTION.
Whereas, the prevention of head and spinal cord injuries and the
rehabilitation of survivors of head and spinal cord injuries is an
investment which benefits all of society; and
Whereas, identifying survivors of these injuries is critical in developing
systems to provide service delivery; and
Whereas, a mechanism to identify these individuals is needed; and
Whereas, a state registry would provide a proper and meaningful method
of identification of head and spinal cord injured individuals. Now,
therefore,
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Title 44 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"CHAPTER 38
Head and Spinal Cord Injury Information System
Section 44-38-10. There is created the South Carolina Head and
Spinal Cord Injury Information System to provide a central information
surveillance system and registry for head and spinal cord injuries.
Section 44-38-20. As used in this chapter:
(1) `Council' means the South Carolina Head and Spinal Cord Injury
Information System Council established pursuant to this chapter.
(2) `Head injury' means an insult to the skull or brain, not of a
degenerative or congenital nature, but one caused by an external
physical force that may produce a diminished or altered state of
consciousness which results in impairment of cognitive abilities or
physical functioning and possibly in behavioral or emotional
functioning. It does not include cerebral vascular accidents and
aneurysms.
(3) `Spinal cord injury' means an acute, traumatic lesion of neural
elements in the spinal canal resulting in any degree of sensory deficit,
motor deficit, or major life functions. The deficit or dysfunction may be
temporary or permanent.
(4) `System' means the South Carolina Head and Spinal Cord
Injury Information System established pursuant to this chapter.
Section 44-38-30. (A) There is the South Carolina Head and
Spinal Cord Injury Information System Council established for the
purpose of overseeing the daily activities of the system. The council is
composed of the following ex officio members or their designees: the
chairman, Developmental Disabilities Council, Office of the Governor,
the chairman of the Joint Committee to Study the Problems of Persons
with Disabilities, the Commissioner of the State Agency of the
Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, the Commissioner of the State
Department of Mental Retardation, the Commissioner of the South
Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, the
Executive Director of the South Carolina Health and Human Services
Finance Commission, Dean of the University of South Carolina School
of Medicine, the Dean of the Medical University of South Carolina, and
the Executive Director of the South Carolina Hospital Association. The
council shall elect a chairman who may appoint such other nonvoting
members who may serve in an advisory capacity to the council,
including representatives from the private service delivery sector.
(B) Members of the council shall receive no compensation,
including subsistence, per diem, or mileage for service on the council.
Section 44-38-40. In carrying out the purposes of this chapter the
council shall:
(1) determine and implement the most cost effective method:
(a) to collect, record, analyze, and disseminate data on the
incidence and causes of head and spinal cord injuries;
(b) to gather such other data as needed from other sources on
head and spinal cord injuries;
(2) provide information for initiation of case management
services and preventive programs for head and spinal cord injured
persons in this State;
(3) develop and promote primary prevention programs related to
preventing head and spinal cord injuries;
(4) perform other duties and functions as determined by the
council to be necessary for implementation of this chapter.
Section 44-38-50. (A) An admitting hospital must submit to the
system:
(1) an initial report on an individual who has received a head
or spinal cord injury, or both, within five days of an individual's
admission as a result of the injury;
(2) a discharge report within thirty days of discharge on those
patients whose injuries required inpatient admissions to the hospital due
to the severity of their injuries.
(B) The initial report must include, but is not limited to: name;
date of birth; gender; race; residence of injured person, including
county; date of injury; social security number; next of kin; the hospital
name and identification number; cause of injury; and initial diagnosis.
(C) The discharge report must include the information contained in
the initial report and the length of the hospital stay; medical expenses
billed; medical expenses payment method; and other information as may
be requested and required by the council. The form may include a
patient registry identification number assigned by the system for
purposes of confidentiality.
(D) The information submitted pursuant to subsections (B) and (C)
must be entered in the registry and, excluding the name of the
individual, may be used in the surveillance, study, research, and
prevention of head and spinal cord injuries. No information submitted
pursuant to subsection (B) or (C) may be released to any person,
organization or agency, public or private, without the written informed
consent of the injured individual or that person's legal guardian or legal
representative.
(E) Failure to submit this information or to release this
information in accordance with this chapter is subject to penalties
pursuant to Section 44-38-90.
Section 44-38-60. The council shall develop:
(1) reporting forms and procedures for reporting the information
required by this chapter;
(2) a system to provide follow up to individuals entered in the
registry; and
(3) procedures for gathering information from other states in
which a South Carolina resident may be admitted for a head or spinal
cord injury, or both;
(4) procedures for approving research projects or participation in
research activities.
Section 44-38-70. (A) All reports and records made pursuant to
this chapter and maintained by any agency, hospital, institution, other
facility, or person pursuant to this chapter are confidential. Information
must not be released except to:
(1) appropriate staff of the system;
(2) a person engaged in a research project approved pursuant
to Section 44-38-60 except that no information identifying a subject of
a report or a reporter may be made available to a researcher unless
consent is obtained pursuant to this section;
(3) a member of the council, except that no information
identifying a subject of a report or a reporter may be made to the council
unless consent is obtained pursuant to this section.
(B) The identity of a patient, physician, or hospital is confidential
and may not be released, except that the identity of a patient may be
released upon informed written consent of the patient, or the patient's
legal guardian or legal representative; the identity of a physician may be
released upon written consent of the physician; and the identity of a
hospital may be released upon written consent of the hospital.
Section 44-38-80. The council shall submit an annual report to the
Joint Committee to Study Problems of Persons with Disabilities
including, but not limited to, the incidence and status of head and spinal
cord injuries in South Carolina, the administration of the system and
recommendations for modifications in the system and for improving the
delivery of services to persons with these injuries.
Section 44-38-90. No individual or organization providing
information or releasing in accordance with this chapter may be held
liable in a civil or criminal action for divulging confidential information
unless the individual or organization acted in bad faith or with malicious
purpose.
Section 44-38-100. A person subject to this chapter who
intentionally fails to comply with reporting or confidentiality and
disclosure requirements of this chapter is subject to a civil penalty of not
more than one hundred dollars for the first violation time a person fails
to comply and not more than five thousand dollars for a subsequent
violation."
SECTION 2. The South Carolina Head and Spinal Cord Injury
Information System as established in Section 1 of this act must be fully
operational by July 1, 1993.
SECTION 3. The South Carolina Head and Spinal Cord Injury
Information System as established by Section 1 of this act is initially and
temporarily placed within and staffed and administered by the
Interagency Office of Disability Prevention currently located within the
State Department of Mental Retardation. The South Carolina Head and
Spinal Cord Injury Information System Council, with the assistance of
the Interagency Office of Disability Prevention, shall evaluate and
recommend to the Joint Committee to Study the Problems of Persons
with Disabilities by July 1, 1993, the most appropriate permanent
placement for the South Carolina Head and Spinal Cord Injury
Information System.
SECTION 4. Funding for the first two years of the South Carolina
Head and Spinal Cord Injury Information System must be provided by
funds available to the Interagency Office of Disability Prevention
through a Center for Disease Control grant.
SECTION 5. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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