LCO No. 3777 1 of 6
General Assembly Raised Bill No. 827
January Session, 2019
LCO No. 3777
Referred to Committee on AGING
Introduced by:
(AGE)
AN ACT CONCERNING AL ZHEIMER'S DISEASE AND DEMENTIA
TRAINING AND BEST PRACTICES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (b) of section 20-10b of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 2
1, 2019): 3
(b) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (d), (e) and (f) of 4
this section, a licensee applying for license renewal shall earn a 5
minimum of fifty contact hours of continuing medical education 6
within the preceding twenty-four-month period. Such continuing 7
medical education shall (1) be in an area of the physician's practice; (2) 8
reflect the professional needs of the licensee in order to meet the health 9
care needs of the public; and (3) during the first renewal period in 10
which continuing medical education is required and not less than once 11
every six years thereafter, include at least one contact hour of training 12
or education in each of the following topics: (A) Infectious diseases, 13
including, but not limited to, acquired immune deficiency syndrome 14
and human immunodeficiency virus, (B) risk management, including, 15 Raised Bill No. 827
LCO No. 3777 2 of 6
but not limited to, for registration periods beginning on or after 16
October 1, 2015, prescribing controlled substances and pain 17
management, (C) sexual assault, (D) domestic violence, (E) cultural 18
competency, and (F) behavioral health, provided further that on and 19
after January 1, 2016, such behavioral health continuing medical 20
education may include, but not be limited to, at least two contact hours 21
of training or education during the first renewal period in which 22
continuing education is required and not less than once every six years 23
thereafter, on the topic of mental health conditions common to 24
veterans and family members of veterans, including (i) determining 25
whether a patient is a veteran or family member of a veteran, (ii) 26
screening for conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, risk of 27
suicide, depression and grief, and (iii) suicide prevention training. On 28
and after July 1, 2023, a licensee applying for license renewal shall also 29
have completed a one-time course not exceeding eight hours on the 30
diagnosis, treatment and care of patients with Alzheimer's disease and 31
dementia, provided the commissioner shall waive this requirement for 32
a licensee who is not engaged in direct primary care or emergency 33
treatment of adults. For purposes of this section, qualifying continuing 34
medical education activities include, but are not limited to, courses 35
offered or approved by the American Medical Association, American 36
Osteopathic Association, Connecticut Hospital Association, 37
Connecticut State Medical Society, Connecticut Osteopathic Medical 38
Society, county medical societies or equivalent organizations in 39
another jurisdiction, educational offerings sponsored by a hospital or 40
other health care institution or courses offered by a regionally 41
accredited academic institution or a state or local health department. 42
The commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, may grant a 43
waiver for not more than ten contact hours of continuing medical 44
education for a physician who: [(i)] (I) Engages in activities related to 45
the physician's service as a member of the Connecticut Medical 46
Examining Board, established pursuant to section 20-8a; [(ii)] (II) 47
engages in activities related to the physician's service as a member of a 48
medical hearing panel, pursuant to section 20-8a; or [(iii)] (III) assists 49
the department with its duties to boards and commissions as described 50 Raised Bill No. 827
LCO No. 3777 3 of 6
in section 19a-14. 51
Sec. 2. Section 20-12g of the general statutes is repealed and the 52
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 53
The department [may] shall, with the advice and assistance of the 54
board, promulgate regulations regarding the renewal of licenses 55
granted pursuant to section 20-12b, including a requirement that, on 56
and after July 1, 2023, a licensee applying for license renewal shall have 57
completed a one-time course not exceeding eight hours on the 58
diagnosis, treatment and care of patients with Alzheimer's disease and 59
dementia, provided the commissioner shall waive this requirement for 60
a licensee who is not engaged in direct primary care or emergency 61
treatment of adults. The department may promulgate such other 62
regulations as may be necessary for the implementation of sections 20-63
12a to 20-12f, inclusive. 64
Sec. 3. Subsection (b) of section 20-94d of the general statutes is 65
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 66
1, 2019): 67
(b) Except as provided in this section, for registration periods 68
beginning on and after October 1, 2014, a licensee applying for license 69
renewal shall earn a minimum of fifty contact hours of continuing 70
education within the preceding twenty-four-month period. Such 71
continuing education shall: (1) Be in an area of the advanced practice 72
registered nurse's practice; (2) reflect the professional needs of the 73
licensee in order to meet the health care needs of the public; (3) include 74
at least five contact hours of training or education in 75
pharmacotherapeutics; (4) include at least one contact hour of training 76
or education in each of the following topics: (A) Infectious diseases, 77
including, but not limited to, acquired immune deficiency syndrome 78
and human immunodeficiency virus, (B) risk management, (C) sexual 79
assault, (D) domestic violence, (E) cultural competency, and (F) 80
substance abuse, including, but not limited to, prescribing controlled 81
substances and pain management; and (5) on and after January 1, 2016, 82 Raised Bill No. 827
LCO No. 3777 4 of 6
include not less than two contact hours of training or education during 83
the first renewal period in which continuing education is required and 84
not less than once every six years thereafter on the topic of mental 85
health conditions common to veterans and family members of 86
veterans, including (A) determining whether a patient is a veteran or 87
family member of a veteran, (B) screening for conditions such as post-88
traumatic stress disorder, risk of suicide, depression and grief, and (C) 89
suicide prevention training. On and after July 1, 2023, a licensee 90
applying for license renewal shall also have completed a one-time 91
course not exceeding eight hours on the diagnosis, treatment and care 92
of patients with Alzheimer's disease and dementia, provided the 93
commissioner shall waive this requirement for a licensee who is not 94
engaged in direct primary care or emergency treatment of adults. For 95
purposes of this section, qualifying continuing education activities 96
include, but are not limited to, courses, including on-line courses, 97
offered or approved by the American Nurses Association, Connecticut 98
Hospital Association, Connecticut Nurses Association, Connecticut 99
League for Nursing, a specialty nursing society or an equivalent 100
organization in another jurisdiction, an educational offering sponsored 101
by a hospital or other health care institution or a course offered by a 102
regionally accredited academic institution or a state or local health 103
department. The commissioner may grant a waiver of not more than 104
ten contact hours of continuing education for an advanced practice 105
registered nurse who: (i) Engages in activities related to the advanced 106
practice registered nurse's service as a member of the Connecticut State 107
Board of Examiners for Nursing, established pursuant to section 20-88; 108
or (ii) assists the department with its duties to boards and commissions 109
as described in section 19a-14. 110
Sec. 4. Section 20-99a of the general statutes is repealed and the 111
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 112
The Department of Public Health shall, with the advice and 113
assistance of the board, promulgate regulations regarding the renewal 114
of licenses granted pursuant to sections 20-93, 20-94, 20-96 and 20-97, 115
including a requirement that, on and after July 1, 2023, a licensee 116 Raised Bill No. 827
LCO No. 3777 5 of 6
applying for license renewal shall have completed a one-time course 117
not exceeding eight hours on the diagnosis, treatment and care of 118
patients with Alzheimer's disease and dementia, provided the 119
department shall waive this requirement for a licensee who is not 120
engaged in direct primary care or emergency treatment of adults. The 121
department may adopt other regulations necessary for the 122
implementation of this chapter. 123
Sec. 5. (Effective from passage) (a) The Commissioner of Rehabilitation 124
Services shall establish a working group to review the 125
recommendations of the task force established pursuant to section 1 of 126
special act 13-11, determine gaps in implementation of the task force's 127
recommendations and make recommendations concerning best 128
practices for Alzheimer's disease and dementia care. 129
(b) The working group shall be comprised of: (1) The Commissioner 130
of Rehabilitation Services, or the commissioner's designee; and (2)(A) 131
the executive director of the Connecticut chapter of the Alzheimer's 132
Association, or the executive director's designee; (B) the executive 133
director of the Commission on Women, Children and Seniors, or the 134
executive director's designee; (C) the executive director of the 135
Connecticut chapter of the American Association of Retired Persons, or 136
the executive director's designee; (D) the State Ombudsman, or a 137
representative of the Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman; (E) a 138
family representative of a person with Alzheimer's disease; (F) a family 139
representative of a person with dementia; and (G) a health care 140
professional with expertise in diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's 141
disease and dementia. 142
(c) The Commissioner of Rehabilitation Services shall make all 143
appointments to the working group not later than thirty days after the 144
effective date of this section. Any vacancy shall be filled by the 145
commissioner, who shall serve as chairperson of the working group. 146
(d) The administrative staff of the Department of Rehabilitation 147
Services shall serve as administrative staff of the working group. 148 Raised Bill No. 827
LCO No. 3777 6 of 6
(e) Not later than November 30, 2019, the working group shall 149
submit a report on its findings and recommendations to the joint 150
standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of 151
matters relating to aging, in accordance with the provisions of section 152
11-4a of the general statutes. The working group shall terminate on the 153
date that it submits such report or December 1, 2020, whichever is 154
later. 155
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2019 20-10b(b)
Sec. 2 July 1, 2019 20-12g
Sec. 3 July 1, 2019 20-94d(b)
Sec. 4 July 1, 2019 20-99a
Sec. 5 from passage New section
Statement of Purpose:
To require certain health care professionals who provide primary care
or emergency treatment for adults to receive training in recognizing
the signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's disease and dementia and to
establish a working group to develop recommendations on improving
the care of Alzheimer's disease and dementia patients.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline,
except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is
not underlined.]