Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Health Legislation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Arkansas Department of Health outlines 10 proposed bills to public-health committee
Summary
ADH Secretary Jose Romero told the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee the department plans roughly 10 bills this session, including hepatitis C screening in pregnancy, cancer-registry data changes, trauma-system updates and opioid-policy proposals.
Jose Romero, secretary of the Arkansas Department of Health, told the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee that the department plans roughly 10 bills this session and offered a brief overview of their topics.
Romero said the package would include a proposal to expand hepatitis C screening during pregnancy “as a part of a program for elimination of hepatitis C,” and a change to the state cancer registry to remove the board-of-health approval step so data can be released more quickly to physicians and researchers.
The department also plans a radiation-control update to meet Nuclear Regulatory Commission standards and a change to trauma-review protocols to add stroke and STEMI (ST‑elevation myocardial infarction) cases to confidential review processes, Romero said. ADH staff will bring proposals related to opioid fatality notification and a review of the prescription drug‑monitoring program (PDMP) data and evaluation processes.
Romero listed licensing- and board-related bills: clarifying a misconduct prohibition for massage therapists; changes to pharmacy-board membership and nursing-home consultant endorsements; adjustments to the hearing‑board membership and quorum; and proposed language on ‘‘good moral character’’ for the social-work board.
Romero closed by offering to answer committee questions; none were offered before the committee moved to the next presentation.
The department’s remarks came as committee leadership also reviewed new procedural rules and consent‑agenda procedures that will affect how sponsors place bills on upcoming agendas. The committee did not take formal action on any of Romero’s proposals at the meeting.
