Christine Jordan Sexton
A House spending panel is giving a nod to a bill that creates a pulmonary blood clot and embolism policy work group to determine how many people in Florida are impacted by the blood clots.
These numbers are estimated because currently there is no systematic collection of blood clot-related morbidity or mortality data in the United States.
The bill (HB 483), filed by Rep. Dean Black, creates the Emily Adkins Prevention Act. The measure establishes a work group composed of health care providers, patients, family members, health care associates and advocates and authorizes the House Speaker and Senate President to each appoint two members. The state Surgeon General is empowered to appoint the Chair of the work group.
The House Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee approved the measure Tuesday.
While the bill enumerates some details, it does not lay out requirements regarding the size of the committee. Members, though, won’t be compensated for their work, according to the bill.
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a blood clot located in a deep vein, usually in the leg or arm. A pulmonary embolism (PE) occurs when part of the clot breaks off and travels to the lungs. Venous thromboembolism (VTE) refers to DVT, PE, or both.
According to a staff analysis of the bill, VTE affects an estimated 900,000 Americans each year, resulting in an estimated 100,000 deaths.
The bill would task the work group with identifying: the aggregate number of people in Florida who experience blood clots and PEs annually; how blood clots and PEs impact the lives of Floridians; the standard of care for blood clot surveillance and detection; and emerging treatments, therapies and research relating to blood clots.
The work group would also develop a risk surveillance system to help hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, residential treatment providers, ambulatory surgical centers and health care providers identify patients who may be at a higher risk of forming blood clots and PEs. The group would also develop policy recommendations for improving patient awareness of blood clot risk.
The Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary is charged with submitting a final report and recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature. The bill has garnered 18 lobbyist registrations, from the Florida Health Care Association to the Florida Society of Plastic Surgeons.
HB 483 passed the committee unanimously. It heads to the House Health & Human Services Committee next. The companion measure is SB 612, filed by Sen. Clay Yarborough. That bill has been referred to three Senate committees but has yet to be considered by any of them.
