PRINTER'S NO. 144
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
178
Session of
2023
INTRODUCED BY BARTOLOTTA, STEFANO, COSTA, ROBINSON, SCHWANK,
FLYNN, COMITTA, HAYWOOD, COLLETT, TARTAGLIONE AND BREWSTER,
JANUARY 19, 2023
REFERRED TO HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, JANUARY 19, 2023
AN ACT
Amending the act of July 19, 1979 (P.L.130, No.48), entitled "An
act relating to health care; prescribing the powers and
duties of the Department of Health; establishing and
providing the powers and duties of the State Health
Coordinating Council, health systems agencies and Health Care
Policy Board in the Department of Health, and State Health
Facility Hearing Board in the Department of Justice;
providing for certification of need of health care providers
and prescribing penalties," in general provisions, repeals
and effective date, providing for acute care mental health
bed registry and referrals.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. The act of July 19, 1979 (P.L.130, No.48), known
as the Health Care Facilities Act, is amended by adding a
section to read:
Section 901.1. Acute care mental health bed registry and
referrals.
(a) The department shall develop and administer a voluntary
Internet web-based acute care mental health bed registry to
facilitate the temporary hospitalization and treatment of
individuals who meet the criteria for inpatient examination and
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treatment under Article II or III of the act of July 9, 1976
(P.L.817, No.143), known as the "Mental Health Procedures Act."
The department shall encourage facilities to voluntarily submit
the information specified in subsection (c). The department
shall make the registry accessible to health care professionals
and their designees who are treating patients in need of mental
health inpatient examination and treatment and to participating
facilities .
(b) The department shall design the registry to collect,
aggregate and display the information under subsection (c).
(c) The registry shall include all of the following
information:
(1) General descriptive information for each
participating facility, including contact information and the
type of treatment and services available at each
participating facility.
(2) Information on the number of acute care mental
health beds available at each participating facility. The
information shall be updated every eight hours .
(3) For each available acute care mental health bed at a
participating facility, the type of patient that may be
admitted.
(4) The level of security provided at each participating
facility.
(5) Any other information that may assist a health care
professional in identifying an appropriate acute care mental
health bed for an individual in need of inpatient examination
and treatment.
(d) The department shall design the registry to allow
health care professionals and their designees to search the
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registry for an appropriate acute care mental health bed for an
individual in need of inpatient examination or treatment.
(e) In order to be eligible to access the registry, a
facility must:
(1) submit information specified under subsection (c) to
the department for inclusion in the registry; and
(2) permit the facility's contact information to be
monitored and accessed at any time in accordance with the
department's regulations promulgated under subsection (h).
(f) The department may contract with a third party to
develop and administer the registry.
(g) The department shall transmit notice of the date when
the department completed the development of the registry to the
Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania
Bulletin.
(h) The department shall promulgate regulations necessary to
implement this section.
(i) As used in this section, the following words and phrases
shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection:
"Acute care mental health bed." A bed located at a mental
health facility that provides acute care mental health services.
"Facility." A mental health facility.
"Health care professional." An individual licensed as a
physician, osteopath, physician assistant or certified
registered nurse practitioner.
"Mental health facility." A distinct part or unit of a
general hospital licensed by the department under this act or a
facility that exclusively cares for the mentally ill and is
licensed by the Department of Human Services under the "Mental
Health Procedures Act" and Article X of the act of June 13, 1967
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(P.L.31, No.21), known as the "Human Services Code," that
provides inpatient mental health examination and treatment. The
term shall not include the emergency department of a general
hospital.
"Participating facility." A facility that satisfies the
conditions under subsection (e).
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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