PETITION OF:

SECTION 1. The general court finds that some patients in the commonwealth suffer unnecessary pain and other forms of prolonged discomfort at the end of their lives and that the availability of better care would reduce the incidence of this suffering. The general court further finds that health care providers may be reluctant to provide adequate pain relieving medication to some patients at the end of their lives as a result of doubts as to the state of the law or professional regulatory requirements. Finally, the general court finds that the development of specific professional standards would assist health care providers to meet the needs of patients requiring end of life care.

SECTION 2. The board of registration in medicine shall, on or before December 30, 2004, submit a report to the Joint Committee on health Care and the Department of Public Health, which shall recommend a process by which standards for end of life care that registered physicians provide to patients in the Commonwealth, can be promulgated. In developing said recommendations the Board shall ensure that said process is able to:
a. describe the circumstances under which a physician may regard a patient as suffering from a terminal illness;
b. set forth specific protocols, including pharmacological guidelines, for the treatment of patients suffering from specific terminal illnesses;
c. require registered physicians in appropriate specialties or practices to obtain continuing medical education in subjects related to the care of patients at the end of life; and,
d. establish principles to govern the board’s determination of complaints against registered physicians arising out of end of life care situations.

SECTION 3. The commissioner of the department of public health shall establish within the department of public health the office of end of life care ombudsman. The commissioner shall appoint an individual, qualified by education, training, and experience, to the position of the director of this office, and this appointment, while not subject to the provisions of chapter thirty-one, requires the approval of the public health council. The director of the office of end of life care that licensees of the department provide; shall investigate these complaints; and shall refer these complaints, upon their receipt or after investigation as the director may determine, to the commissioner, the board of registration in medicine, or the attorney general of the commonwealth as the director determines appropriate. The director shall also develop educational and informational programs and materials regarding end of life care and shall make these programs and materials available to licensees of the department, other agencies of the commonwealth, and the public.
The commissioner shall, after notice and hearing pursuant to the provisions of chapter thirty A of the general laws, adopt regulations that establish standards for end of life care that licensees of the department provide to patients in the commonwealth. The commissioner shall, by regulation, establish reporting requirements applicable to licensees of the commonwealth regarding end of life care matters, including the incidence of refractory pain, suffering, or other forms of distress; the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of treatment modalities in end of life care situations; complaints received from patients and their resolution; and such other information as the commissioner determines appropriate.
On the first day of April following enactment and annually thereafter, the commissioner shall file with the joint health care committee of the general court a report of the activities of the department during the prior calendar year with respect to end of life care matters and shall include in the report any recommendations for legislation that the commissioner determines appropriate for the General Court to consider.