(1) There is hereby created, within the division, the nurse-physician advisory task force for Colorado health care, referred to in this section as "NPATCH". The purpose of the NPATCH is to promote public safety and improve health care in Colorado by supporting collaboration and communication between the practice of nursing, the practice as a certified midwife, and the practice of medicine. The NPATCH shall: (a) Promote patient safety and quality care; (b) Address issues of mutual concern at the interface of the practice of nursing, the practice as a certified midwife, and the practice of medicine; (c) Inform public policy-making; and (d) Make consensus recommendations to policy-making and rule-making entities, including recommendations to the executive director. (2) (a) The NPATCH consists of twelve members appointed as follows: (I) One member of the state board of nursing, appointed by the president of the board; (II) One member of the Colorado medical board, appointed by the president of the board; (III) Ten members appointed by the governor as follows: (A) Three members recommended by and representing a statewide professional nursing organization; (B) Three licensed physicians recommended by and representing a statewide physicians' organization that represents multi-specialty physicians and whose membership includes at least one-third of the doctors of medicine and osteopathy licensed in the state; (C) One member representing the nursing community who may or may not be a member of a statewide professional nursing organization; (D) One member representing the physician community who may or may not be a member of a statewide physicians' organization; and (E) Two members representing consumers. (b) The members of the NPATCH shall serve on a voluntary basis without compensation and shall serve three-year terms; except that, in order to ensure staggered terms of office, four of the initial appointees shall serve initial one-year terms and four of the initial appointees shall serve initial two-year terms. (3) (a) Except as provided in subsection (3)(b) of this section, the NPATCH may develop its own bylaws and procedures to govern its operations. (b) A recommendation of the NPATCH requires the consensus of the members of the task force. For purposes of this section, "consensus" means an agreement, decision, or recommendation that all members of the task force can actively support and that no member actively opposes. (4) The division shall staff the NPATCH. The division's costs for administering and staffing the NPATCH shall be funded by an increase in fees for professional and advanced practice registered nursing, certified midwife, and medical license renewal fees, as authorized in sections 12-240-130 and 12-255-107 (1)(b)(I), with fifty percent of the funding derived from the physician license renewal fees and fifty percent derived from the professional and advanced practice registered nursing and certified midwife license renewal fees. (5) The NPATCH shall prioritize consideration of and make recommendations on the following topics: (a) and (b) Repealed. (c) Quality assurance mechanisms for all medication prescribers; (d) Evidence-based guidelines; (e) Decision support tools; (f) Safe prescribing metrics for all medication prescribers; (g) Methods to foster effective communication between health professions; (h) Health-care delivery system integration and related improvements; (i) Physician standards, processes, and metrics to ensure appropriate consultation, collaboration, and referral regarding advanced practice registered nurse and certified midwife prescriptive authority; (j) Prescribing issues regarding providers other than physicians, advanced practice registered nurses, and certified midwives; (k) Alignment of health-care licensing with federal statutory minimums; (l) Identification of unnecessary regulatory burdens or barriers; (m) Regulatory reforms that support health-care licensees to work at their full scope of practice; and (n) Feasibility of temporary candidate licenses for students nearing the completion of an accredited health-care program. At a minimum, the NPATCH must consider reimbursement, liability, and health and safety issues in its analysis. (6) The NPATCH shall make recommendations pursuant to this section to the executive director. (7) This section is repealed, effective September 1, 2027. Before the repeal, the functions of the NPATCH are scheduled for review in accordance with section 2-3-1203.
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