§ 147A.23 — Trauma care system development

Iowa § 147A.23

• Jurisdiction: Iowa
• Title IV: PUBLIC HEALTH
• Ch. 147A: EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE — TRAUMA CARE

Text

1. The department is designated as a lead agency in this state responsible for the
development of a statewide trauma care system.
2. Thedepartmentshalldevelop,coordinate,andmonitorastatewidetraumacaresystem.
This system shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
a. (1) Development of criteria for the categorization of all hospitals and emergency care
facilities according to their trauma care capabilities. These categories shall be for levels
I, II, III, and IV, based on the most current guidelines published by the American college
of surgeons committee on trauma, the American college of emergency physicians, and the
modeltraumacareplanoftheUnitedStatesdepartmentofhealthandhumanservices’health
resources and services administration.
(2) The categorization of all hospitals and emergency care facilities by the department as
to their capacity to provide trauma care services. The categorization shall be determined by
the department from self-reported information provided to the department by the hospital or
emergency care facility. This categorization shall not be construed to imply any guarantee
on the part of the department as to the level of trauma care services available at the hospital
or emergency care facility.
b. (1) Development of a process for the verification of the trauma care capacity of each
facility and the issuance of a certificate of verification. The standards and verification process
shall be established by rule and may vary as appropriate by level of trauma care capability.
To the extent possible, the standards and verification process shall be coordinated with other
applicable accreditation and licensing standards.
(2) The issuance of a certificate of verification of all categorized hospitals and emergency
care facilities from the department at the level preferred by the hospital or emergency care
facility.
c. Upon verification and the issuance of a certificate of verification, agreement by
a hospital or emergency care facility to maintain a level of commitment and resources
sufficient to meet responsibilities and standards as required by the trauma care criteria
established by rule under this subchapter. Verifications are valid for a period of three years
or as determined by the department and are renewable. As part of the verification and
renewal process, the department may conduct periodic on-site reviews of the services and
facilities of the hospital or emergency care facility.
d. Implementation of an Iowa trauma care plan.
11 EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE — TRAUMA CARE, §147A.28
e. Development of standards for medical direction, trauma care, triage and transfer
protocols, and trauma registries.
f. Promotion of public information and education activities for injury prevention.
g. The development of strategies and the review of rules adopted under this subchapter
to promote optimal trauma care delivery throughout the state.
h. Development, implementation, and conducting of trauma care system evaluation,
quality assessment, and quality improvement.
3. The department is responsible for the funding of the administrative costs of this
subchapter. Any funds received by the department for this purpose shall be deposited in the
emergency medical services fund established in section 135.25.
4. This section shall not be construed to limit the number and distribution of level I, II, III,
and IV categorized and verified trauma care facilities in a community or region.
5. Proceedings, records, and reports developed pursuant to this section constitute
peer review records under section 147.135, and are not subject to discovery by subpoena
or admissible as evidence. All information and documents received from a hospital or
emergency care facility under this subchapter shall be confidential pursuant to section
272C.6, subsection 4.