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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 827
January Session, 2019
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repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 2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
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 Substitute Bill No. 827
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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 or courses, not exceeding eight 30
hours, on the diagnosis, treatment and care of patients with 31
Alzheimer's disease, dementia, delirium and related cognitive 32
impairments, and geriatric depression, provided the commissioner 33
shall waive this requirement for a licensee who provides documentary 34
evidence satisfactory to the commissioner that he or she is not engaged 35
in direct primary care of adults or emergency treatment of adults. For 36
purposes of this section, qualifying continuing medical education 37
activities include, but are not limited to, courses offered or approved 38
by the American Medical Association, American Osteopathic 39
Association, Connecticut Hospital Association, Connecticut State 40
Medical Society, Connecticut Osteopathic Medical Society, county 41
medical societies or equivalent organizations in another jurisdiction, 42
educational offerings sponsored by a hospital or other health care 43
institution or courses offered by a regionally accredited academic 44
institution or a state or local health department. The commissioner, or 45
the commissioner's designee, may grant a waiver for not more than ten 46
contact hours of continuing medical education for a physician who: 47
[(i)] (I) Engages in activities related to the physician's service as a 48
member of the Connecticut Medical Examining Board, established 49
pursuant to section 20-8a; [(ii)] (II) engages in activities related to the 50
physician's service as a member of a medical hearing panel, pursuant 51
to section 20-8a; or [(iii)] (III) assists the department with its duties to 52
boards and commissions as described in section 19a-14. 53 Substitute Bill No. 827
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Sec. 2. Section 20-12g of the general statutes is repealed and the 54
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 55
The department [may] shall, with the advice and assistance of the 56
board, promulgate regulations regarding the renewal of licenses 57
granted pursuant to section 20-12b, including a requirement that, on 58
and after July 1, 2023, a licensee applying for license renewal shall have 59
completed a one-time course or courses, not exceeding eight hours, on 60
the diagnosis, treatment and care of patients with Alzheimer's disease, 61
dementia, delirium and related cognitive impairments, and geriatric 62
depression, provided the department shall waive this requirement for 63
a licensee who provides documentary evidence satisfactory to the 64
department that he or she is not engaged in direct primary care of 65
adults or emergency treatment of adults. The department may 66
promulgate such other regulations as may be necessary for the 67
implementation of sections 20-12a to 20-12f, inclusive. 68
Sec. 3. Subsection (b) of section 20-94d of the general statutes is 69
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 70
1, 2019): 71
(b) Except as provided in this section, for registration periods 72
beginning on and after October 1, 2014, a licensee applying for license 73
renewal shall earn a minimum of fifty contact hours of continuing 74
education within the preceding twenty-four-month period. Such 75
continuing education shall: (1) Be in an area of the advanced practice 76
registered nurse's practice; (2) reflect the professional needs of the 77
licensee in order to meet the health care needs of the public; (3) include 78
at least five contact hours of training or education in 79
pharmacotherapeutics; (4) include at least one contact hour of training 80
or education in each of the following topics: (A) Infectious diseases, 81
including, but not limited to, acquired immune deficiency syndrome 82
and human immunodeficiency virus, (B) risk management, (C) sexual 83
assault, (D) domestic violence, (E) cultural competency, and (F) 84
substance abuse, including, but not limited to, prescribing controlled 85
substances and pain management; and (5) on and after January 1, 2016, 86 Substitute Bill No. 827
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include not less than two contact hours of training or education during 87
the first renewal period in which continuing education is required and 88
not less than once every six years thereafter on the topic of mental 89
health conditions common to veterans and family members of 90
veterans, including (A) determining whether a patient is a veteran or 91
family member of a veteran, (B) screening for conditions such as post-92
traumatic stress disorder, risk of suicide, depression and grief, and (C) 93
suicide prevention training. On and after July 1, 2023, a licensee 94
applying for license renewal shall also have completed a one-time 95
course or courses, not exceeding eight hours, on the diagnosis, 96
treatment and care of patients with Alzheimer's disease, dementia, 97
delirium and related cognitive impairments, and geriatric depression, 98
provided the commissioner shall waive this requirement for a licensee 99
who provides documentary evidence satisfactory to the commissioner 100
that he or she is not engaged in direct primary care of adults or 101
emergency treatment of adults. For purposes of this section, qualifying 102
continuing education activities include, but are not limited to, courses, 103
including on-line courses, offered or approved by the American 104
Nurses Association, Connecticut Hospital Association, Connecticut 105
Nurses Association, Connecticut League for Nursing, a specialty 106
nursing society or an equivalent organization in another jurisdiction, 107
an educational offering sponsored by a hospital or other health care 108
institution or a course offered by a regionally accredited academic 109
institution or a state or local health department. The commissioner 110
may grant a waiver of not more than ten contact hours of continuing 111
education for an advanced practice registered nurse who: (i) Engages 112
in activities related to the advanced practice registered nurse's service 113
as a member of the Connecticut State Board of Examiners for Nursing, 114
established pursuant to section 20-88; or (ii) assists the department 115
with its duties to boards and commissions as described in section 19a-116
14. 117
Sec. 4. Section 20-99a of the general statutes is repealed and the 118
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 119 Substitute Bill No. 827
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The Department of Public Health shall, with the advice and 120
assistance of the board, promulgate regulations regarding the renewal 121
of licenses granted pursuant to sections 20-93, 20-94, 20-96 and 20-97, 122
including a requirement that, on and after July 1, 2023, a licensee 123
applying for license renewal shall have completed a one-time course or 124
courses, not exceeding eight hours, on the diagnosis, treatment and 125
care of patients with Alzheimer's disease, dementia, delirium and 126
related cognitive impairments, and geriatric depression, provided the 127
department shall waive this requirement for a licensee who provides 128
documentary evidence satisfactory to the department that he or she is 129
not engaged in direct primary care of adults or emergency treatment of 130
adults. The department may adopt other regulations necessary for the 131
implementation of this chapter. 132
Sec. 5. (Effective from passage) (a) The Commissioner of Rehabilitation 133
Services shall establish a working group to review the 134
recommendations of the task force established pursuant to section 1 of 135
special act 13-11, determine gaps in implementation of the task force's 136
recommendations and make recommendations concerning best 137
practices for Alzheimer's disease and dementia care. 138
(b) The working group shall be comprised of: (1) The Commissioner 139
of Rehabilitation Services, or the commissioner's designee; (2) the 140
executive director of the Connecticut chapter of the Alzheimer's 141
Association, or the executive director's designee; (3) the executive 142
director of the Commission on Women, Children and Seniors, or the 143
executive director's designee, who shall be chairperson of the working 144
group; (4) the executive director of the Connecticut chapter of the 145
American Association of Retired Persons, or the executive director's 146
designee; (5) the State Ombudsman, or a representative of the Office of 147
the Long-Term Care Ombudsman; (6) a family representative of a 148
person with Alzheimer's disease; (7) a family representative of a 149
person with dementia; (8) a person diagnosed with Alzheimer's 150
disease or dementia; and (9) a health care professional with expertise 151
in the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease and dementia. 152 Substitute Bill No. 827
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(c) The Commissioner of Rehabilitation Services shall make all 153
appointments to the working group not later than thirty days after the 154
effective date of this section. Any vacancy shall be filled by the 155
commissioner. 156
(d) The administrative staff of the Department of Rehabilitation 157
Services shall serve as administrative staff of the working group. 158
(e) Not later than November 30, 2019, the working group shall 159
submit a report on its findings and recommendations to the joint 160
standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of 161
matters relating to aging, in accordance with the provisions of section 162
11-4a of the general statutes. The working group shall terminate on the 163
date that it submits such report or December 1, 2020, whichever is 164
later. 165
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
AGE Joint Favorable Subst.