General Assembly Clears Path For Advanced Health Care Directives Registry Launch

(Wednesday) February 17, 2010

Delegate David Englin (Photo: James Cullum)

Initiative on health care decisions brings together divergent sides, paves way for electronic medical records

The Virginia General Assembly today passed House Bill 267, sponsored by Delegate David Englin (D-45), that will enable the Virginia Department of Health to launch a statewide Advanced Health Care Directives Registry in April.

Today’s bill begins the final phase of a two-year effort that started with 2008 legislation sponsored by Englin and State Sen. George Barker (D-39) to establish Virginia’s Advanced Health Care Directives Registry as a statewide registry for living wills and advanced medical directives so medical professionals and emergency responders can access these documents when they are needed most.

The General Assembly today amended that law to remove the requirement that directives be notarized before being entered into the registry. This conforms the law with private sector best practices and enables the Department of Health to move forward with a public-private partnership to deliver the registry at no cost to taxpayers or users. By adding an emergency clause to the legislation, the General Assembly ensured that the law will go into effect as soon as Governor Robert F. McDonnell signs it, so that the Department of Health may launch the registry before April 16, which is Advanced Directives Day. Without the emergency clause, the bill would have gone into effect July 1.

Englin said that this bipartisan effort, which began under the Kaine Administration and has enjoyed the continued support of the McDonnell Administration, brings together sometimes divergent interests. “This will be especially helpful for gay and lesbian Virginians, who may designate their partners as the people to make medical decisions on their behalf — a legal power married couples enjoy by default,” said Englin. “But it also has support from conservatives who understand that this could avoid a replay of the Terri Schiavo case, which involved a painful familial dispute over who had the power to remove her from life support. By ensuring that family members, health care providers, and emergency responders know exactly what people’s wishes are for their medical care and exactly who people want making life or death decisions for them when they are incapacitated, the Advanced Health Care Directives Registry will be an important tool for all Virginians.”

Aneesh Chopra, who is currently the Chief Technology Officer of the United States, worked with Englin in 2008 and early 2009 when he was Virginia’s Secretary of Technology to ensure that the language of Virginia’s Advanced Health Care Directives Registry law leaves the door open for future efforts to expand the use of electronic medical records.

“Electronic medical records can save billions of dollars in health care costs and improve the quality of care,” said Englin. “I am hopeful that the success of the Virginia’s Advanced Health Care Directives Registry will segue into electronic medical records in the future.”

Englin credited Kim Barnes, Information Technology Coordinator for the Virginia Department of Health, for working diligently over more than 18 months to bring this project to the verge of fruition.

“Kim deserves a great deal of credit for months of work negotiating the details of the public-private partnership that has put the launch of this new system in sight,” said Englin.

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