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ENGROSSED SENATE BILL 5205
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State of Washington 53rd Legislature 1993 Regular Session
By Senators Wojahn, Moyer, Sheldon, Erwin, Fraser, Winsley, Prentice, Niemi and Talmadge
Read first time 01/18/93. Referred to Committee on Health & Human Services.
AN ACT Relating to infant mortality review; and amending RCW 70.05.170.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 70.05.170 and 1992 c 179 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)(a) The legislature
finds that the ((rate of infant)) mortality rate in Washington
state among infants and children less than eighteen years of age is
unacceptably high, and that such mortality may be preventable. The legislature
further finds that, through the performance of ((infant)) child
mortality reviews, preventable causes of ((infant)) child
mortality can be identified and addressed, thereby reducing the ((rate of))
infant and child mortality in Washington state.
(b) It is the intent of
the legislature to encourage the performance of ((infant)) child
death reviews by local health departments by providing necessary legal
protections to the families of ((infants)) children whose deaths
are studied, local health department officials and employees, and health care
professionals participating in ((infant)) child mortality review
committee activities.
(2) As used in this
section, "((infant)) child mortality review" means a
process authorized by a local health department as such department is defined
in RCW 70.05.010 for examining factors that contribute to ((infant death
through)) deaths of children less than eighteen years of age. The
process may include a systematic review of medical, clinical, and hospital
records; home interviews of parents and caretakers of ((infants)) children
who have died; analysis of individual case information; and review of this
information by a team of professionals in order to identify modifiable medical,
socioeconomic, public health, behavioral, administrative, educational, and
environmental factors associated with each death.
(3) Local health
departments are authorized to conduct ((infant)) child mortality
reviews. In conducting such reviews, the following provisions shall apply:
(a) All medical
records, reports, and statements procured by, furnished to, or maintained by a
local health department pursuant to chapter 70.02 RCW for purposes of ((an
infant)) a child mortality review are confidential insofar as the
identity of an individual ((infant)) child and his or her
adoptive or natural parents is concerned. Such records may be used solely by
local health departments for the purposes of the review. This section does not
prevent a local health department from publishing statistical compilations and
reports related to the ((infant)) child mortality review, if such
compilations and reports do not identify individual cases and sources of
information.
(b) Any records or
documents supplied or maintained for the purposes of ((an infant)) a
child mortality review are not subject to discovery or subpoena in any
administrative, civil, or criminal proceeding related to the death of ((an
infant)) a child reviewed. This provision shall not restrict or
limit the discovery or subpoena from a health care provider of records or documents
maintained by such health care provider in the ordinary course of business,
whether or not such records or documents may have been supplied to a local
health department pursuant to this section.
(c) Any summaries or
analyses of records, documents, or records of interviews prepared exclusively
for purposes of ((an infant)) a child mortality review are not
subject to discovery, subpoena, or introduction into evidence in any administrative,
civil, or criminal proceeding related to the death of ((an infant)) a
child reviewed.
(d) No local health
department official or employee, and no members of technical committees
established to perform case reviews of selected ((infant)) child
deaths may be examined in any administrative, civil, or criminal proceeding as
to the existence or contents of documents assembled, prepared, or maintained
for purposes of ((an infant)) a child mortality review.
(e) This section shall not be construed to prohibit or restrict any person from reporting suspected child abuse or neglect under chapter 26.44 RCW nor to limit access to or use of any records, documents, information, or testimony in any civil or criminal action arising out of any report made pursuant to chapter 26.44 RCW.
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