SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 1
54th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2020
INTRODUCED BY
Michael Padilla
A JOINT MEMORIAL
REQUESTING A STUDY OF ALTERNATIVES TO AMPUTATION AND EDUCATION IN NEW MEXICO.
WHEREAS, the federal centers for disease control and prevention reports that twenty-three million Americans suffered from diabetes in 2017; and
WHEREAS, the American diabetes association reports that diabetes and prediabetes expenditures amount to two billion dollars ($2,000,000,000) per year; and
WHEREAS, peripheral arterial disease, which diabetics have an increased risk of developing, is a fatty plaque blockage of blood vessels; and
WHEREAS, the federal centers for disease control and prevention recognizes limb amputation as a procedure to combat peripheral arterial disease; and
WHEREAS, a 2019 report on data compiled by the agency for healthcare research and quality indicates that lower-extremity amputations for adults with diabetes increased from approximately eighty thousand in 2005 to over one hundred ten thousand in 2015; and
WHEREAS, the national institutes of health indicates that New Mexico has high rates of amputation for peripheral arterial disease compared to other states; and WHEREAS, the United States department of health and human services indicates that, within New Mexico, Native Americans and Mexican Americans undergo disproportionately high diabetes-related amputations; and
WHEREAS, alternatives to limb amputations exist for people who have diabetes and peripheral arterial disease; and
WHEREAS, the federal centers for disease control and prevention recommends screening for those who are symptomatic of diabetes and peripheral arterial disease; and
WHEREAS, ankle-brachial index screening is a minimally invasive measure of blood pressure to the extremities, which could minimize the risk of amputation in those with peripheral arterial disease; and
WHEREAS, educating communities on alternative courses of care facilitates autonomy in patients; and
WHEREAS, New Mexicans with diabetes could benefit from education on preventive measures for peripheral arterial disease and alternatives to amputation;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the secretary of health and the secretary of human services be requested to convene a task force to study methods of preventing and educating the public on diabetes-related amputation; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be composed of representatives from the human services department and the department of health, including its office of primary care and rural health; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be requested to study:
A. the effect of educating communities on risks of peripheral arterial disease, preventive screening for peripheral arterial disease and alternatives to amputation;
B. the effect of educating physicians on billing for peripheral arterial disease screening in patients who display diabetes symptoms;
C. financial implications of increased practice of screening for peripheral arterial disease;
D. implementation of preventive alternatives to amputation; and
E. data resulting from providing physicians with tools to detect peripheral arterial disease and knowledge on alternatives to amputation; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be requested to report its findings to the legislative health and human services committee and to the governor by November 1, 2020; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the governor, the secretary of health, the secretary of human services and the chair of the legislative health and human services committee.
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