Bill Summary
The "Organ Donation Referral Improvement Act" is a piece of legislation aimed at enhancing the process of organ donation referrals in hospitals through the use of electronic automated systems. The Act mandates the Secretary of Health and Human Services, via the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, to conduct a comprehensive study within one year of its enactment.
The study will evaluate current hospital practices regarding electronic automated referrals for organ donation, focusing on several key areas:
1. **Efficiency**: Assessing time savings and potential improvements in identifying organ donors compared to traditional methods.
2. **Benefits of Electronic Records**: Exploring how electronic medical records and standardized criteria can enhance donor identification.
3. **Impact on Donation Volumes**: Analyzing how automated referrals might influence the number of organ donations.
4. **Review of Literature**: Evaluating existing research on the subject.
5. **Best Practices**: Identifying effective strategies for implementing automated referrals.
6. **Information Security**: Ensuring secure data transmission for these referrals.
7. **Recommendations**: Developing strategies to encourage broader adoption of electronic referrals.
8. **Nationwide Implementation**: Identifying necessary actions for nationwide implementation of these systems.
The findings of the study will be compiled into a report to be submitted to key congressional committees, providing insights and recommendations for improving the organ donation process through technology.
Possible Impacts
Here are three examples of how the "Organ Donation Referral Improvement Act" could affect people:
1. **Increased Organ Donation Rates**: By streamlining the referral process through electronic automated referrals, hospitals may identify potential organ donors more efficiently. This could lead to an increase in the number of organs available for transplant, potentially saving lives and improving health outcomes for patients on waiting lists.
2. **Improved Efficiency for Healthcare Workers**: The study aims to assess the savings in staff time and the reduction of variability in eligibility timelines for organ donation. If the findings support the use of automated systems, healthcare workers may spend less time manually handling referrals, allowing them to focus more on patient care and other critical responsibilities.
3. **Enhanced Data Security and Standardization**: The legislation emphasizes the need for secure transmission of information and standardized clinical criteria for identifying organ donors. This could enhance the privacy and security of patient data, building trust among patients and their families in the organ donation process. Additionally, standardization may lead to a more consistent approach in different hospitals, improving the overall quality of organ donation efforts.
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 330 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 330
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through
the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, to conduct a study
on existing efforts of hospitals with respect to electronic automated
referrals for purposes of organ donation, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 9, 2025
Mr. Wittman (for himself, Ms. McClellan, Mrs. Miller-Meeks, and Mr.
Costa) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through
the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, to conduct a study
on existing efforts of hospitals with respect to electronic automated
referrals for purposes of organ donation, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Organ Donation Referral Improvement
Act''.
SEC. 2. STUDYING ELECTRONIC AUTOMATED REFERRAL FOR ORGAN DONATIONS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through
the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (referred to in
this Act as the ``Secretary''), shall conduct and complete a study on
existing efforts of hospitals with respect to electronic automated
referrals for purposes of organ donation.
(b) Study Components.--The study conducted under subsection (a)
shall--
(1) identify savings in staff time, variation in timeliness
to determine eligibility for organ donation, as well as
potential improvement over human interaction for the
identification of potential organ donors, if any, attained
through the use of electronic automated referrals;
(2) identify benefits, if any, in identifying potential
organ donors through the use of electronic medical records and
standardized clinical criteria;
(3) review the impact of such electronic automated
referrals, without the need for manual reporting, on donation
volumes;
(4) assess published peer-reviewed clinical literature on
such electronic automated referrals;
(5) review best practices for using such electronic
automated referrals;
(6) review information technology practices to ensure the
secure transmission of information for purposes of such
referrals;
(7) develop recommendations to promote the use of such
electronic automated referrals; and
(8) identify what actions are needed to establish the use
of such electronic automated referrals nationwide.
(c) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Finance and the Committee on
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate a report on the
results of the study conducted under subsection (a).
(d) Electronic Automated Referral Defined.--In this section, the
term ``electronic automated referral'' means an electronic system that
identifies potential deceased organ donors via clinical criteria in a
patient's electronic health record and automatically refers such
patients to the hospital's collaborating organ procurement
organization.
<all>