Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H4078 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2021 FILED ON: 1/15/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4078
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Christopher Richard Flanagan
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act relative to establishing protocols for the early detection and treatment of patients with
13	13	sepsis.
14	14	_______________
15	15	PETITION OF:
16	16	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Christopher Richard Flanagan1st Barnstable1/15/2025 1 of 3
17	17	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2021 FILED ON: 1/15/2025
18	18	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4078
19	19	By Representative Flanagan of Dennis, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 4078) of
20	20	Christopher Richard Flanagan relative to early detection and treatment of patients with sepsis.
21	21	Public Health.
22	22	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
23	23	_______________
24	24	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
25	25	(2025-2026)
26	26	_______________
27	27	An Act relative to establishing protocols for the early detection and treatment of patients with
28	28	sepsis.
29	29	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
30	30	of the same, as follows:
31	31	1 SECTION 1. Chapter 111 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after
32	32	2section 25P the following section:-
33	33	3 Section 25Q. (a) For purposes of this section, the following terms shall, unless the
34	34	4context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:-
35	35	5 "Sepsis", a known or suspected infection with at least 2 or more SIRS criteria.
36	36	6 "Severe sepsis", a known or suspected infection with at least 2 or more SIRS criteria and
37	37	7sepsis-related tissue hypoperfusion or organ dysfunction.
38	38	8 "Septic shock", sepsis-induced hypotension persisting despite adequate intravenous fluid
39	39	9resuscitation or evidence of tissue hypoperfusion. 2 of 3
40	40	10 “SIRS criteria”, criteria for system inflammatory response syndrome, as developed by
41	41	11American College of Chest Physicians/Society of Critical Care Medicine.
42	42	12 (b) The department shall make available to facilities licensed pursuant to this chapter
43	43	13information on best practices for the treatment of patients with sepsis, severe sepsis and septic
44	44	14shock. The best practices shall be based on generally accepted standards of care, including, but
45	45	15not limited to:
46	46	16 (i) an evidence-based screening tool that can be used at initial evaluation of adult and
47	47	17pediatric patients;
48	48	18 (ii) an evidence-based treatment protocol for adult and pediatric patients that includes
49	49	19time-specific treatment goals;
50	50	20 (iii) nurse-driven testing protocols to enable nurses to initiate care for patients with
51	51	21suspected sepsis;
52	52	22 (iv) the incorporation of sepsis screening and treatment tools into the electronic health
53	53	23record where possible;
54	54	24 (v) mechanisms to prompt escalation of care within these settings and, when appropriate,
55	55	25to stabilize and transfer to a facility able to provide a higher level of care;
56	56	26 (vi) strategies for appropriate hand-offs and communication regarding the care of patients
57	57	27with sepsis and for the reassessments of patients at regular intervals;
58	58	28 (vii) hospital-specific antibiotic guidelines for use in treating patients with sepsis and a
59	59	29mechanism for reevaluating a patient’s antibiotic treatment based on culture results that provides
60	60	30reassessment and de-escalation of antibiotic treatment when appropriate; and 3 of 3
61	61	31 (viii) staff education on sepsis policies and procedures during the onboarding process and
62	62	32at least annually and when new practice guidelines are published or existing standards are
63	63	33updated to ensure that care reflects current standards of practice.
64	64	34 (c) In order to enhance patient safety and protection, each facility licensed pursuant to
65	65	35this section shall establish a multi-disciplinary committee to implement policies, procedures and
66	66	36staff education in accordance with the best practices issued by the department. The multi-
67	67	37disciplinary committee at each facility shall be responsible for the collection, use and reporting
68	68	38of quality measures related to the recognition and treatment of severe sepsis for purposes of
69	69	39internal quality improvement and facility reporting. Such measures shall include, but not be
70	70	40limited to, data sufficient to evaluate each facility’s
71	71	41 adherence rate to its own sepsis protocols, including adherence to timeframes and
72	72	42implementation of all protocol components for adults and children.
73	73	43 SECTION 2. Not later than September 1, 2025, the department of public health shall
74	74	44promulgate regulations, pursuant to chapter 30A, that include the guidelines required by section
75	75	4525Q of chapter 111 of the General Laws, inserted by section 1.
76	76	46 SECTION 3. This act shall take effect on October 1, 2025.