Attorney General No.
13-0016
Secretary of State No.
1606
Description
Requires drug and alcohol testing of doctors and reporting of positive test to the California Medical Board. Requires Board to suspend doctor pending investigation of positive test and take disciplinary action if doctor was impaired while on duty. Requires doctors to report any other doctor suspected of drug or alcohol impairment or medical negligence. Requires health care practitioners to consult state prescription drug history database before prescribing certain controlled substances. Increases $250,000 cap on pain and suffering damages in medical negligence lawsuits to account for inflation. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: State and local government costs associated with higher net medical malpractice costs, likely at least in the low tens of millions of dollars annually, potentially ranging to over one hundred million dollars annually. Potential net state and local government costs associated with changes in the amount and types of health care services that, while highly uncertain, potentially range from minor to hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
Proponents
Robert S. Pack c/o Robin Johansen and James C. Harrison (510) 346-6200
Date
8-30-2013
Document Type
Initiative
Qualified
Qualified
Recommended Citation
Drug and Alcohol Testing of Doctors. Medical Negligence Lawsuits. Initiative Statute. California Initiative 1606 (2013).
https://repository.uclawsf.edu/ca_ballot_inits/1815