26-33a-104 - Purpose, powers, and duties of the committee.
26-33a-104. Purpose, powers, and duties of the committee.
(1) The purpose of the committee is to direct a statewide effort to collect, analyze, anddistribute health care data to facilitate the promotion and accessibility of quality andcost-effective health care and also to facilitate interaction among those with concern for healthcare issues.
(2) The committee shall:
(a) develop and adopt by rule, following public hearing and comment, a health data planthat shall among its elements:
(i) identify the key health care issues, questions, and problems amenable to resolution orimprovement through better data, more extensive or careful analysis, or improved disseminationof health data;
(ii) document existing health data activities in the state to collect, organize, or makeavailable types of data pertinent to the needs identified in Subsection (2)(a)(i);
(iii) describe and prioritize the actions suitable for the committee to take in response tothe needs identified in Subsection (2)(a)(i) in order to obtain or to facilitate the obtaining ofneeded data, and to encourage improvements in existing data collection, interpretation, andreporting activities, and indicate how those actions relate to the activities identified underSubsection (2)(a)(ii);
(iv) detail the types of data needed for the committee's work, the intended data suppliers,and the form in which such data are to be supplied, noting the consideration given to the potentialalternative sources and forms of such data and to the estimated cost to the individual suppliers aswell as to the department of acquiring these data in the proposed manner; the plan shallreasonably demonstrate that the committee has attempted to maximize cost-effectiveness in thedata acquisition approaches selected;
(v) describe the types and methods of validation to be performed to assure data validityand reliability;
(vi) explain the intended uses of and expected benefits to be derived from the dataspecified in Subsection (2)(a)(iv), including the contemplated tabulation formats and analysismethods; the benefits described must demonstrably relate to one or more of the following:promoting quality health care, managing health care costs, or improving access to health careservices;
(vii) describe the expected processes for interpretation and analysis of the data flowing tothe committee; noting specifically the types of expertise and participation to be sought in thoseprocesses; and
(viii) describe the types of reports to be made available by the committee and theintended audiences and uses;
(b) have the authority to collect, validate, analyze, and present health data in accordancewith the plan while protecting individual privacy through the use of a control number as thehealth data identifier;
(c) evaluate existing identification coding methods and, if necessary, require by rule thathealth data suppliers use a uniform system for identification of patients, health care facilities, andhealth care providers on health data they submit under this chapter;
(d) report biennially to the governor and the Legislature on how the committee ismeeting its responsibilities under this chapter; and
(e) advise, consult, contract, and cooperate with any corporation, association, or other
entity for the collection, analysis, processing, or reporting of health data identified by controlnumber only in accordance with the plan.
(3) The committee may adopt rules to carry out the provisions of this chapter inaccordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act.
(4) Except for data collection, analysis, and validation functions described in this section,nothing in this chapter shall be construed to authorize or permit the committee to performregulatory functions which are delegated by law to other agencies of the state or federalgovernments or to perform quality assurance or medical record audit functions that health carefacilities, health care providers, or third party payors are required to conduct to comply withfederal or state law. The committee shall not recommend or determine whether a health careprovider, health care facility, third party payor, or self-funded employer is in compliance withfederal or state laws including but not limited to federal or state licensure, insurance,reimbursement, tax, malpractice, or quality assurance statutes or common law.
(5) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to require a data supplier to supply healthdata identifying a patient by name or describing detail on a patient beyond that needed to achievethe approved purposes included in the plan.
(6) No request for health data shall be made of health care providers and other datasuppliers until a plan for the use of such health data has been adopted.
(7) If a proposed request for health data imposes unreasonable costs on a data supplier,due consideration shall be given by the committee to altering the request. If the request is notaltered, the committee shall pay the costs incurred by the data supplier associated with satisfyingthe request that are demonstrated by the data supplier to be unreasonable.
(8) After a plan is adopted as provided in Section 26-33a-106.1, the committee mayrequire any data supplier to submit fee schedules, maximum allowable costs, area prevailingcosts, terms of contracts, discounts, fixed reimbursement arrangements, capitations, or otherspecific arrangements for reimbursement to a health care provider.
(9) The committee shall not publish any health data collected under Subsection (8) whichwould disclose specific terms of contracts, discounts, or fixed reimbursement arrangements, orother specific reimbursement arrangements between an individual provider and a specific payer.
(10) Nothing in Subsection (8) shall prevent the committee from requiring thesubmission of health data on the reimbursements actually made to health care providers from anysource of payment, including consumers.
Amended by Chapter 382, 2008 General Session