Substitute Senate Bill No. 827
Public Act No. 19-115
AN ACT CONCERNING AL ZHEIMER'S DISEASE AN D 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
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective
January 1, 2020):
(b) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (d), (e) and (f) of
this section, a licensee applying for license renewal shall earn a
minimum of fifty contact hours of continuing medical education
within the preceding twenty-four-month period. Such continuing
medical education shall (1) be in an area of the physician's practice; (2)
reflect the professional needs of the licensee in order to meet the health
care needs of the public; and (3) during the first renewal period in
which continuing medical education is required and not less than once
every six years thereafter, include at least one contact hour of training
or education in each of the following topics: (A) Infectious diseases,
including, but not limited to, acquired immune deficiency syndrome
and human immunodeficiency virus, (B) risk management, including,
but not limited to, for registration periods beginning on or after
October 1, 2015, prescribing controlled substances and pain
management, (C) sexual assault, (D) domestic violence, (E) cultural Substitute Senate Bill No. 827
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competency, and (F) behavioral health, provided further that on and
after January 1, 2016, such behavioral health continuing medical
education may include, but not be limited to, at least two contact hours
of training or education during the first renewal period in which
continuing education is required and not less than once every six years
thereafter, on [the topic of mental health conditions] diagnosing and
treating (i) cognitive conditions, including, but not limited to,
Alzheimer's disease, dementia, delirium, related cognitive
impairments and geriatric depression, or (ii) mental health conditions,
including, but not limited to, mental health conditions common to
veterans and family members of veterans. [, including (i)] Training for
mental health conditions common to veterans and family members of
veterans shall include best practices for (I) determining whether a
patient is a veteran or family member of a veteran, [(ii)] (II) screening
for conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, risk of suicide,
depression and grief, and [(iii)] (III) suicide prevention training. For
purposes of this section, qualifying continuing medical education
activities include, but are not limited to, courses offered or approved
by the American Medical Association, American Osteopathic
Association, Connecticut Hospital Association, Connecticut State
Medical Society, Connecticut Osteopathic Medical Society, county
medical societies or equivalent organizations in another jurisdiction,
educational offerings sponsored by a hospital or other health care
institution or courses offered by a regionally accredited academic
institution or a state or local health department. The commissioner, or
the commissioner's designee, may grant a waiver for not more than ten
contact hours of continuing medical education for a physician who: (i)
Engages in activities related to the physician's service as a member of
the Connecticut Medical Examining Board, established pursuant to
section 20-8a; (ii) engages in activities related to the physician's service
as a member of a medical hearing panel, pursuant to section 20-8a; or
(iii) assists the department with its duties to boards and commissions
as described in section 19a-14. Substitute Senate Bill No. 827
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Sec. 2. Subsection (b) of section 20-94d of the general statutes is
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective
January 1, 2020):
(b) Except as provided in this section, for registration periods
beginning on and after October 1, 2014, a licensee applying for license
renewal shall earn a minimum of fifty contact hours of continuing
education within the preceding twenty-four-month period. Such
continuing education shall: (1) Be in an area of the advanced practice
registered nurse's practice; (2) reflect the professional needs of the
licensee in order to meet the health care needs of the public; (3) include
at least five contact hours of training or education in
pharmacotherapeutics; (4) include at least one contact hour of training
or education in each of the following topics: (A) Infectious diseases,
including, but not limited to, acquired immune deficiency syndrome
and human immunodeficiency virus, (B) risk management, (C) sexual
assault, (D) domestic violence, (E) cultural competency, and (F)
substance abuse, including, but not limited to, prescribing controlled
substances and pain management; [and] (5) on and after January 1,
2016, include not less than two contact hours of training or education
during the first renewal period in which continuing education is
required and not less than once every six years thereafter on the topic
of mental health conditions common to veterans and family members
of veterans, including (A) determining whether a patient is a veteran
or family member of a veteran, (B) screening for conditions such as
post-traumatic stress disorder, risk of suicide, depression and grief,
and (C) suicide prevention training; and (6) on and after January 1,
2020, may include not less than two contact hours of training or
education during the first renewal period in which continuing
education is required and not less than once every six years thereafter
in diagnosing and treating cognitive or mental health conditions,
including, but not limited to, Alzheimer's disease, dementia, delirium,
related cognitive impairments and geriatric depression. For purposes Substitute Senate Bill No. 827
Public Act No. 19-115 4 of 5
of this section, qualifying continuing education activities include, but
are not limited to, courses, including on-line courses, offered or
approved by the American Nurses Association, Connecticut Hospital
Association, Connecticut Nurses Association, Connecticut League for
Nursing, a specialty nursing society or an equivalent organization in
another jurisdiction, an educational offering sponsored by a hospital or
other health care institution or a course offered by a regionally
accredited academic institution or a state or local health department.
The commissioner may grant a waiver of not more than ten contact
hours of continuing education for an advanced practice registered
nurse who: [(i)] (A) Engages in activities related to the advanced
practice registered nurse's service as a member of the Connecticut State
Board of Examiners for Nursing, established pursuant to section 20-88;
or [(ii)] (B) assists the department with its duties to boards and
commissions as described in section 19a-14.
Sec. 3. (Effective from passage) (a) The executive director of the
Commission on Women, Children and Seniors shall convene a
working group to review the recommendations of the task force
established pursuant to section 1 of special act 13-11, determine gaps in
implementation of the task force's recommendations and make
recommendations concerning best practices for Alzheimer's disease
and dementia care.
(b) The working group shall be comprised of: (1) The executive
director of the Commission on Women, Children and Seniors, or the
executive director's designee, who shall be chairperson of the working
group; (2) the executive director of the Connecticut chapter of the
Alzheimer's Association, or the executive director's designee; (3) the
Commissioner of Rehabilitation Services, or the commissioner's
designee; (4) the executive director of the Connecticut chapter of the
American Association of Retired Persons, or the executive director's
designee; (5) the State Ombudsman, or the State Ombudsman's Substitute Senate Bill No. 827
Public Act No. 19-115 5 of 5
designee; and (6) (A) a family representative of a person with
Alzheimer's disease, (B) a family representative of a person with
dementia, (C) a person diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or
dementia, and (D) a health care professional with expertise in the
diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease and dementia, all
appointed by the executive director of the Commission on Women,
Children and Seniors.
(c) The executive director of the Commission on Women, Children
and Seniors shall make appointments and convene the working group
not later than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any
vacancy shall be filled by said executive director.
(d) The administrative staff of the Commission on Women, Children
and Seniors shall serve as administrative staff of the working group.
(e) Not later than January 30, 2020, the working group shall submit
a report on its findings and recommendations to the joint standing
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters
relating to aging, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of
the general statutes. The working group shall terminate on the date
that it submits such report or December 1, 2020, whichever is later.