Substitute House Bill No. 5903
Public Act No. 15-203
AN ACT CONCERNING A STUDY OF CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) The Commissioner of Public Health shall, in consultation with the Commissioner of Social Services, representatives of the Connecticut Hospital Association and representatives of any other national patient organization with expertise in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, study chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
(b) Not later than February 1, 2016, the commissioner shall report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public health concerning the results of the study described in subsection (a) of this section. Such report shall include, but need not be limited to: (1) Hospitalization and rates of hospital readmission within thirty days for persons with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the state; (2) a description of current activities by state agencies to promote awareness and education by health care providers and the general public on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, including, but not limited to, (A) the causes of the disease, (B) the importance of early diagnosis using spirometry testing and treatment, (C) effective prevention strategies, and (D) management of the disease; (3) an assessment of the need for community-based services for persons having the disease; and (4) recommendations concerning (A) the necessity and feasibility of conducting a needs assessment with respect to the disease, (B) hosting an annual summit on the disease, (C) development of a pilot program to determine best practices and outcomes and to lower hospital readmission rates for persons with the disease, and (D) identification of the amount of funding and potential funding sources for the pilot program described in subparagraph (C) of this subdivision.
(c) The Commissioner of Public Health shall post on the Department of Public Health's Internet web site information concerning chronic obstructive pulmonary disease from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other information that the commissioner believes may aid persons with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in talking with such persons' health care providers about the disease.