HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

109

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2003

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

requesting the department of health to establish an advisory commission on hawaii palliative care and pain management.

 

 

WHEREAS, more than ten years ago, the World Health Organization stated that inadequate care of patients with certain incurable or terminal illnesses was a serious national and international public health problem that required the development of palliative care programs to provide relief from distressing symptoms; and

WHEREAS, more recently, a report from the Center to Advance Palliative Care noted that palliative care programs established in hospitals increased by 20 per cent from 2000 to 2001; and

WHEREAS, locally, the Hawaii Cancer Pain Initiative and other efforts have provided palliative care and improved end-of-life care for Hawaii residents; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature declares its intent to devote the necessary resources and to adopt the most appropriate policies to achieve the goal of all citizens of Hawaii having access to the highest possible quality of palliative care and pain management; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2003, that the Department of Health (DOH) is requested to establish and convene an Advisory Commission on Hawaii Palliative Care and Pain Management (Commission) to provide Hawaii residents with access to the highest possible quality of palliative care and pain management; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that DOH is requested to appoint the members to the Commission including:

(1) Members from a list of nominees submitted by the Governor;

(2) Members from a list of nominees submitted by the President of the Senate; and

(3) Members from a list of nominees submitted by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Commission include representatives from each county, adult residential care homes, hospice programs, pharmacists, doctors, and nurses; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that within 120 days after the Commission is established, the Commission is requested to prepare separate questionnaires that structure and facilitate self-studies designed to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each facility's provision of palliative care and pain management for the following institutions in this State: hospitals, nursing homes, medical school, nursing schools, home care agencies, and hospice agencies; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that upon completion by the Commission of the questionnaires, the Executive Office on Aging is requested to assist the Commission by coordinating the transmission of the appropriate questionnaires to all licensed hospitals, nursing homes, medical school, nursing schools, home care agencies, and hospice agencies in this State with the relevant licensing agencies; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Commission is requested to direct every licensed hospital, nursing home, medical school, nursing school, home care agency, and hospice agency that receives the Commission's questionnaire to conduct the appropriate self-study and transmit its completed questionnaire to the Commission within 30 days of its receipt; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Commission is requested to study the completed questionnaires and to draw on their contents, as well as other sources of information, for the

identification of strengths, weaknesses, and disparity in palliative care and pain management training and care provided throughout Hawaii; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Commission is requested to develop guidelines to establish recommended parameters for the investigation of prescribers or dispensers of schedule II controlled substances, as listed in chapter 329, Hawaii Revised Statutes, for the treatment of pain consistent with the need to avoid deterring them from achieving adequate pain relief for their patients; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Commission is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than 20 days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2004; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Director of Health, Executive Director of the Hawaii Medical Association, and President of the Hawaii Nurses' Association.

Report Title:

Palliative Care & Pain Management; Advisory Commission