Employment: health information technology: clinical practice guidelines: worker rights.
Existing law establishes the Labor Commissioner and sets forth its powers and duties, including investigation of employee complaints. Existing law establishes the State Department of Public health and sets forth its powers and duties relating to the licensure and regulation of health facilities, as defined. Existing law establishes the Department of Consumer Affairs and establishes various boards within its jurisdiction, including those charged with the licensure and regulation of practice in the various healing arts.
This bill would provide that the use of technology shall not limit a worker who is providing direct patient care from exercising independent clinical judgment in the assessment, evaluation, planning and implementation of care, nor from acting as a patient advocate. The bill would define “technology” for these purposes to mean scientific hardware or software including algorithms derived from the use of health care related data, used to achieve a medical or nursing care objective at a health facility.
This bill would authorize each worker who provides direct patient care at a health facility to be free to override health information technology and clinical practice guidelines if, in their professional judgment, and in accordance with their scope of practice, it is in the best interest of the patient to do so. The bill would require each employer to notify all workers who provide direct patient care, and if subject to a collective bargaining agreement, their representatives, before implementing new information technology that materially affects the jobs of the workers or their patients.
This bill would prohibit an employer from retaliating or otherwise discriminating against a worker providing direct patient care who requests to override health information technology and clinical practice guidelines or discusses these issues with other employees or supervisors. The bill would authorize a worker who is subject to retaliation to file a complaint with the Labor Commissioner against an employer who has retaliated or discriminated against the employee.
This bill would require each employer to ensure that appropriate education or training be provided to workers providing direct patient care for purposes of educating or training those workers on how to utilize the new technology and to understand its limitations. The bill would require health facilities to provide opportunities for workers providing direct patient care in the affected clinical areas to participate in the design, building, and validation process for new technology impacting patient care delivery consistent with certain criteria, as provided.