Florida
Annual Report and Long-Range Plan Now Available
Florida's Division of Medical Quality Assurance has released its Annual Report and Long-Range Plan for Fiscal Year 2022-23.
The Annual Report and Long-Range Plan provides health care regulatory partners and stakeholders with an overview of MQA's efficiency and effectiveness at regulating health care practitioners and facilities in Florida. Specifically included in this report are trend analyses and information tables of MQA's three key processes: licensing, enforcement, and information, as well as its revenues and expenditures.
The report is available at https://www.floridahealth.gov/licensing-and-regulation/reports-and-publications/index.html
Source: Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine News, November 1, 2023
Kansas
New Law Increases Protection for Healthcare Workers
A new Kansas law will better protect healthcare workers from all types of abuse and harassment on the job.
Lawmakers passed House Bill 2023, making interfering with the work of a healthcare provider a crime. It also increases the criminal penalties for assaulting one.
Kansas healthcare professionals are working to introduce additional provisions to the law during the 2024 legislative session. Their hope is that the laws will protect workers from retaliation or harassment so that they can focus on what they do best.
Illinois
Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Report Released
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) released its 3rd edition of the Illinois Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Report, which covers maternal deaths of Illinois residents.
The report, spanning from 2018-2020, identified that Black women continue to die at disparately higher rates due to issues that contribute to the overall causes, including medical difficulties related to cardiovascular disease and pre-existing chronic medical conditions. The leading overarching cause of pregnancy-related death is substance use disorder (SUD).
Other findings include:
Black women were twice as likely to die from any pregnancy-related condition and three times as likely to die from pregnancy-related medical conditions as white women.
91% of pregnancy-related deaths were potentially preventable due to clinical, system, social, community or patient factors.
“We continue to see unacceptable inequities in maternal mortality for Black women and women with lower socioeconomic status,” said IDPH Director Sameer Vohra, MD “Furthermore, SUD is the leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths, demonstrating the continued devastating impact of the opioid crisis. Areas of progress are being made, but the report is an acknowledgment that more needs to be done.”
The full report is available at https://dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/life-stages-populations/maternal-child-family-health-services/maternal-health/mmmr.html
Source: Illinois State Medical Society News, November 3, 2023
New Hampshire
Naloxone Access Expanded
In an ongoing effort to increase access to prevention, treatment, and recovery services for people with substance use disorder, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has purchased and distributed record amounts of the opioid reversal drug Naloxone to New Hampshire communities. Over the past year, the state has invested close to $3 million in State Opioid Response funds to increase public access to naloxone to prevent opioid overdose deaths, lessen the impact of an overdose, and reduce stigma often associated with opioid overdose.
“The State of New Hampshire first began making naloxone kits to residents across the state in 2016,” said Governor Chris Sununu. “This year, we became the first state in the country to launch statewide placement of NaloxBoxes—a tool proven to save lives in overdose situations. New Hampshire is leaving no stone unturned in our efforts to combat the nationwide substance misuse epidemic.”
“During a medical emergency, ensuring public access to life-saving tools such as naloxone can mean the difference between life and death,” said DHHS Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Ballard. “Our goal is to make naloxone widely accessible in every corner of the state, and we value our partnership with the New Hampshire Doorway system that helps move it forward through a coordinated and collaborative effort.”
Source: New Hampshire DHHS press release, November 3, 2023
