(1) The general assembly hereby finds that an increasing number of people are faced with the difficult task of choosing a health-care facility for themselves and their family members. This task may be made less difficult by improved access to reliable, helpful, and unbiased information concerning the quality of care and the safety of the environment offered by each health-care facility. The general assembly further finds that it is appropriate that the department, in keeping with its role of protecting and improving the public health, solicit this information from health- care facilities and disseminate it to the public in a form that will assist people in making informed choices among health-care facilities. (2) Each health-care facility licensed pursuant to section 25-3-101 or certified pursuant to section 25-1.5-103 (1)(a)(II) shall report to the department all of the following occurrences: (a) Any occurrence that results in the death of a patient or resident of the facility and is required to be reported to the coroner pursuant to section 30-10-606, C.R.S., as arising from an unexplained cause or under suspicious circumstances; (b) Any occurrence that results in any of the following serious injuries to a patient or resident: (I) Brain or spinal cord injuries; (II) Life-threatening complications of anesthesia or life-threatening transfusion errors or reactions; (III) Second- or third-degree burns involving twenty percent or more of the body surface area of an adult patient or resident or fifteen percent or more of the body surface area of a child patient or resident; (c) Any time that a resident or patient of the facility cannot be located following a search of the facility, the facility grounds, and the area surrounding the facility and there are circumstances that place the resident's health, safety, or welfare at risk or, regardless of whether such circumstances exist, the patient or resident has been missing for eight hours; (d) Any occurrence involving physical, sexual, or verbal abuse of a patient or resident, as described in section 18-3-202, 18-3-203, 18-3-204, 18-3-206, 18-3-402, 18-3-403, as it existed prior to July 1, 2000, 18-3-404, or 18-3-405, C.R.S., by another patient or resident, an employee of the facility, or a visitor to the facility; (e) Any occurrence involving caretaker neglect of a patient or resident, as described in section 26-3.1-101 (2.3), C.R.S.; (f) Any occurrence involving misappropriation of a patient's or resident's property. For purposes of this paragraph (f), "misappropriation of a patient's or resident's property" means a pattern of or deliberately misplacing, exploiting, or wrongfully using, either temporarily or permanently, a patient's or resident's belongings or money without the patient's or resident's consent. (g) Any occurrence in which drugs intended for use by patients or residents are diverted to use by other persons. If the diverted drugs are injectable, the health-care facility shall also report the full name and date of birth of any individual who diverted the injectable drugs, if known. (h) Any occurrence involving the malfunction or intentional or accidental misuse of patient or resident care equipment that occurs during treatment or diagnosis of a patient or resident and that significantly adversely affects or if not averted would have significantly adversely affected a patient or resident of the facility. (2.5) (a) In addition to the reports required by subsection (2) of this section, if the Colorado attorney general, the department of health care policy and financing, a case management agency, as defined in section 25.5-6-1702, an adult protection service, or a law enforcement agency makes a report of an occurrence as described in subsection (2) of this section involving a licensed long-term care facility, that report must be provided to the department and made available for inspection consistent with the provisions of subsection (6) of this section. Any reports concerning an adult protection service must be in compliance with the confidentiality requirements of section 26-3.1-102 (7). (b) For purposes of this subsection (2.5), a "licensed long-term care facility" means a licensed community residential or group home, a licensed intermediate care facility for individuals with intellectual disabilities, and a licensed facility for persons with developmental disabilities. (3) The board by rule shall specify the manner, time period, and form in which the reports required pursuant to subsection (2) of this section shall be made. (4) Any report submitted pursuant to subsection (2) of this section shall be strictly confidential; except that information in any such report may be transmitted to an appropriate regulatory agency having jurisdiction for disciplinary or license sanctions. The information in such reports shall not be made public upon subpoena, search warrant, discovery proceedings, or otherwise, except as provided in subsection (6) of this section. (5) The department shall investigate each report submitted pursuant to subsection (2) of this section that it determines was appropriately submitted. For each report investigated, the department shall prepare a summary of its findings, including the department's conclusions and whether there was a violation of licensing standards or a deficiency or whether the facility acted appropriately in response to the occurrence. If the investigation is not conducted on site, the department shall specify in the summary how the investigation was conducted. Any investigation conducted pursuant to this subsection (5) shall be in addition to and not in lieu of any inspection required to be conducted pursuant to section 25-1.5-103 (1)(a) with regard to licensing. (6) (a) The department shall make the following information available to the public: (I) Any investigation summaries prepared pursuant to subsection (5) of this section; (II) Any complaints against a health-care facility that have been filed with the department and that the department has investigated, including the conclusions reached by the department and whether there was a violation of licensing standards or a deficiency or whether the facility acted appropriately in response to the subject of the complaint; and (III) A listing of any deficiency citations issued against each health-care facility. (b) The information released pursuant to this subsection (6) shall not identify the patient or resident or the health-care professional involved in the report. (7) Prior to the completion of an investigation pursuant to this section, the department may respond to any inquiry regarding a report received pursuant to subsection (2) of this section by confirming that it has received such report and that an investigation is pending. (8) In addition to the report to the department for an occurrence described in paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of this section, the occurrence shall be reported to a law enforcement agency.
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