Blood banks: collection.

Existing law requires a blood bank to be licensed by the State Department of Health Care Services. Existing law authorizes specified individuals to collect human blood at a blood bank that meets specified requirements if the collection is under the direct and responsible supervision of a licensed physician or surgeon. Existing regulations authorize blood collection when a physician is not present on the blood bank premises when specified requirements are met, including that a qualified physician or emergency medical facility is no more than 15 minutes away. Existing law requires a health care provider to obtain verbal or written consent from a patient before the use of telehealth to deliver health care services. An existing executive order has suspended that requirement during the COVID-19 pandemic. This bill would authorize blood collection at a blood bank when a physician or surgeon is not physically present if the medical director and their medical advisory committee approve and if the employee placed in charge is a registered nurse. The bill would authorize the registered nurse placed in charge to be physically present or available via telehealth, so long as the method of telehealth used is synchronous. The bill would require a blood bank, under these circumstances, to report annually to the department on any adverse donor events requiring emergency medical intervention, including whether a registered nurse was physically present on the premises, and to provide, at the request of the department, written procedures for managing adverse donor reactions. The bill would make these provisions inoperative on January 1, 2028.