STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2386

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 2779

 

 

 

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2010

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 2779 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MEDICAL PROCEDURES,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to require that, prior to giving informed consent, patients must be informed of the amount of radiation they will be exposed to in the course of x-ray or computed tomography scans and any health risks attendant with such exposure.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Medical Service Association, the Hawaii Association of Health Plans, and one individual.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Health.  Written testimony presented to the Committee may be reviewed on the Legislature's website.

 

     Your Committee finds that the dangers of repeated exposure to low level radiation from duplicative and overly-precautionary x‑rays and computed tomography scans are serious enough that a patient must be informed of the amount of radiation exposure per treatment and its attendant health risks for informed consent to be valid.  Your Committee hopes that this measure will also provoke patients to ask more questions of their x-ray technicians, radiologists, and physicians, thus affording the patient one more safeguard against rare but unfortunately not unheard of fatal or debilitating radiation overdoses.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2779 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,

 

 

 

____________________________

DAVID Y. IGE, Chair