(The Center Square) – Arizona Senate Republicans passed two medical bills aimed at strengthening patient protections.Along party lines, state senators passed Senate Bills 1011 and 1557 this week. The legislation now goes to the House for consideration.SB 1011 mandates county medical examiners or forensic pathologists in cases of a “sudden and unexplained infant death” to review an infant’s immunization and vaccination history.On top of this, they would be required to look into medical treatments or preventive medications given to infants 90 days before their death.The bill would require medical examiners to report the infant’s death to a national case registry that tracks “all sudden and unexplained infant deaths.”The other bill, SB 1557, requires a health care professionals to obtain a “signed informed consent” form before performing any medical intervention on a patient. The form would be kept in the patient’s medical records.SB 1557 defines a “medical intervention” as a “medical procedure, treatment, device, drug, injection, medication or medical action taken to diagnose, prevent or cure a disease or alter the health or biological function of a person.”The bill provides exceptions for patients receiving emergency medical care.
“This is about restoring trust at the most vulnerable moments in people’s lives,” said state Sen. Janae Shamp, R-Surprise, a former nurse who sponsored the bills.
“Patients deserve to know exactly what is being done to their bodies, and parents deserve real answers when tragedy strikes. These bills ensure that transparency isn’t optional, it’s standard practice,” Shamp told The Center Square by email.“When the stakes are this high, we should be asking more questions, not fewer,” the senator added.
Shamp said the Arizona House should pass these bills “without delay” and Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs “should sign them into law to ensure every Arizonan is protected by clear, consistent standards in their care.”
Republicans hold majorities in both houses, but lack enough votes to override Hobbs’ vetoes.
In addition to these bills, the Senate passed Shamp-sponsored SB 1017, which requires licensed physicians, nurse practitioners or physician assistants to get a patient or their surrogate decision maker to sign informed consent forms for surgical procedures. If either of these two is not able to sign, SB 1017 allows a witness to verify on the informed consent form that the patient intended to consent to having a surgical procedure.
The health bills “address real situations happening every day in operating rooms and hospitals across our country,” Shamp told The Center Square.“We need a health care system that prioritizes people over politics, and I will continue to fight until this becomes a reality,” she said.
