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(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates/Conflicts with/Companion to/Relates to

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Department of Health

SUMMARY

Synopsis of House Floor Amendment

House Floor amendment to House Bill 375 as amended merely changes the citation of federal law to now read: "21 U.S.C. 360 (k)

Synopsis of HBIC Amendment

House Business and Industry Committee amended House Bill 375 by substituting Section 7 in it's entirety in order to identify those persons who would have limited liability protections. Briefly, the amendment identifies the following persons who are covered by the provisions of the new Section 7.

1. A physician who provides supervisory services pursuant to the Cardiac Arrest Response Act.

2. A person or entity that provides training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and use of automated external defibrillation.

3. A person or entity that acquires an AED pursuant to the Cardiac Arrest Response Act.

4. The owner of the property or facility where the AED is located.

5. The trained target responder.

These individuals or entities shall not be subject to civil liability provided they have acted with reasonable care and in compliance with the requirements of the Act.

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 375 establishes a program to place automatic external defibrillators to treat victims of cardiac arrest in locations that are accessible to trained targeted responders. The bill would require these responders receive appropriate training and the program be under the direction and oversight of a qualified physician. The bill would also establish limited liability for the trained targeted responder and the training entity. The bill would also require the Emergency Medical Services Bureau to develop rules for registration and oversight of defibrillation programs and to charge registration fees to help offset the administration of the program.

Significant Issues

The Department of Health estimates that there are 350,000 Americans who die each year from sudden cardiac arrest. Implementation of a program such as the one described ion House Bill 375 is estimated to save 20,000 of those suffering sudden cardiac arrest.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

There is no appropriation in the bill and administration of the program would require the fees collected by the bureau.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

Administration of the program is within the budgeted capacity of this department.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

The Emergency Medical Services Bureau has been working with the regional unit of the American Heart Association to work on the development of such a program in New Mexico.

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

1. Does the proposed collection of fees insure enough resources for the development and implementation of such a program?

MB/njw