A1244

An Act concerning vendors at health care facilities and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. a. The Commissioner of Health shall establish by regulation, pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), standards and requirements for the certification of vendors providing goods or services or conducting other business at health care facilities licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.). A vendor certification issued under this section shall be valid at every facility licensed by the Department of Health, and no facility shall establish, as a requirement to provide goods or services or conduct business at the facility, any training, certification, or other requirements that are in addition to the requirements established pursuant to this section.

b. The standards and requirements established under this section shall include, but need not be limited to: professional certification or licensure requirements; training in patient safety and preventing the spread of infectious disease; training concerning patient privacy rights and the confidentiality of patient health records; standards and requirements for vendors having direct contact with patients; mandatory immunizations; criminal history record background checks; and any other standards or requirements the commissioner deems necessary and appropriate. To the extent possible, the commissioner shall waive any training or other requirement established under this section for an applicant who has completed an equivalent of the training or other requirement as a condition of professional licensure or certification.

c. The standards and requirements established under this section may include multiple certification levels based on the nature of the vendor’s goods, services, or business, the nature and degree of contact the vendor will have with patients, the level of access the vendor will have to confidential patient information, the level of supervision by facility staff that will be required for the vendor, and any other factors the commissioner deems relevant.

d. The commissioner may charge a reasonable fee for the issuance or renewal of a vendor certification. A vendor certification shall be valid for one year.

e. The commissioner shall approve vendor certification programs that meet the requirements of the regulations promulgated pursuant to this section, and shall establish a schedule of the maximum fees that may be charged by vendor certification programs to vendors, which may be based on a sliding scale governed by the size of the vendor’s business or organization.

2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill requires the Commissioner of Health to establish by regulation standards and requirements for the certification of vendors providing goods or services or otherwise conducting business at health care facilities licensed by the Department of Health (DOH). A vendor certification will be valid for one year, and will be valid at all DOH-licensed facilities. Facilities will be prohibited from imposing additional requirements for vendor access beyond those established pursuant to the bill.

The standards and requirements established under the bill are to include: professional certification or licensure requirements; training in patient safety and preventing the spread of infectious disease; training concerning patient privacy rights and the confidentiality of patient health records; standards and requirements for vendors having direct contact with patients; mandatory immunizations; criminal history record background checks; and any other standards or requirements as the commissioner deems necessary and appropriate. To the extent possible, the commissioner is to waive training and other requirements when an applicant has completed an equivalent of the training or requirement as a condition of professional licensure or certification.

The commissioner may establish multiple levels of certification based on the nature of the vendor’s goods, services, or business, the nature and degree of contact the vendor will have with patients, the level of access the vendor will have to confidential patient information, the level of supervision by facility staff that will be required for the vendor, and any other factors the commissioner deems relevant. The commissioner will be permitted to charge a reasonable fee for the issuance or renewal of a vendor certification.

The commissioner is to approve vendor certification programs and establish a schedule of the maximum fees that may be charged by the programs to vendors, which may be based on a sliding scale governed by the size of the vendor’s business or organization.

Currently, there are no standardized requirements for vendors to access hospitals and other health care facilities in the State, and many facilities have established their own individual requirements for vendor access, resulting in numerous, overlapping requirements that needlessly raise the cost for vendors to conduct business in the State. It is the sponsor’s belief that establishing standardized vendor certification requirements will help facilitate vendor relationships with health care facilities while safeguarding patient safety and the confidentiality of patient information.