S 1685 · 113th Congress 2013–2015, ended

Behavioral Health Information Technology Coordination Act of 2013

Fact sheet

Latest action · Nov 12, 2013 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

  1. IntroducedNov 12, 2013
  2. Passed SenateNot reached
  3. Passed HouseNot reached
  4. To the PresidentNot reached
  5. Became lawNot reached

Summary

Behavioral Health Information Technology Coordination Act of 2013 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to include as health care providers behavioral and mental health professionals, substance abuse professionals, psychiatric hospitals, certain community mental health centers, and residential or outpatient mental health or substance abuse treatment facilities.

Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA), with respect to incentives for meaningful use of certified electronic health records (EHR) technology under the pay schedule for physician's services, to include as additional eligible professionals clinical psychologists providing qualified psychologist services. Subjects any additional eligible professionals, including those under a MedicareAdvantage (MA) plan, to reductions in incentive payments after a certain date for failure to be a meaningful EHR user.

Makes inpatient psychiatric hospitals eligible for payment for inpatient hospital services.

Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to treat as Medicaid providers: (1) public and certain private hospitals that are principally psychiatric hospitals, (2) certain community mental health centers, and (3) certain residential or outpatient mental health or substance abuse treatment facilities.

Makes eligible professionals under the Medicaid program certain clinical psychologists providing qualified psychologist services.

Authorizes a covered entity to submit to a patient safety organization information on electronic health record (EHR)-related adverse events with respect to certified EHR technology.

Specifies covered entities as certain EHR users, health information exchange entities, and health care professionals who use EHR technology.

Defines an EHR-related adverse event as a defect, malfunction, or error in the certified health information technology or EHR used by a provider, or in the input or output of data maintained through such technology or record, that results or could reasonably result in harm to a patient.

Limits electronic discovery (e-discovery) in any health care lawsuit against a covered entity relating to an Reallotted adverse event involving certified EHR technology to information: (1) related to that event, and (2) from the period in which the event occurred.

Prohibits a claimant from commencing a lawsuit more than three years after the manifestation of injury or one year after the claimant discovers, or should have discovered, the injury, whichever occurs first. Requires tolling of this limitation, however, to the extent that the claimant is able to prove: (1) fraud; (2) intentional concealment; or (3) the presence of a foreign body, with no therapeutic or diagnostic purpose or effect, in the injured person.

Subjects each party to such a lawsuit which is not a covered entity to proportionate liability only.

Allows punitive damages against a covered entity only upon proof by clear and convincing evidence that the entity acted with reckless disregard for the claimant's health or safety.

Shields covered entities, employees, agents, and representatives from civil liability for libel or slander arising from information or entries made in certified EHR technology, or transferred to another eligible provider, if the information, entries, or transfer were made in good faith and without malice.

Cosponsors

Members who signed on, in the order they did.

No cosponsors are on file for this measure.

Actions 2

Everything that happened, newest first.

  1. Nov 12, 2013Introduced in Senate
  2. Nov 12, 2013Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Related bills 2

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

BillTitleRelationshipLatest action
S 1517Behavioral Health Information Technology Act of 2013Related billSep 18, 2013
HR 2957Behavioral Health Information Technology Act of 2013Related billAug 2, 2013

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

  1. Nov 12, 2013Introduced in Senate

Support LegiList

This page is free, carries no paywall, and is built and maintained by one person. If the record here is useful to you, a few dollars keeps it going.

Processed by Stripe in a separate window. LegiList never sees card details.

Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.