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Dear Licensee:
This communication is to inform you of recent legislation affecting your profession.
On June 30, 2020, Governor Jared Polis signed HB20-1216 Sunset Continue Nurse Practice Act. The new law went into effect on July 1, 2020, and continues the activities of the State Board of Nursing (Board) and the regulation of nurses through September 1, 2027. The new law makes various technical changes and also:
- Allows the Board to enter into confidential agreements with nurses who have a physical illness, physical condition, or behavioral or mental health disorder;
- Requires malpractice insurance companies to send information to the Board related to any malpractice claims against a licensed nurse;
- Modifies the grounds for discipline related to alcohol and drug use, diverting controlled substances, failing to report certain actions to the Board, failing to act within the limitations created by a physical or mental illness, failing to comply to limitations agreed to under a confidential agreement, and engaging in a sexual act with a patient during the course of care or within six months of care;
- Removes the requirement that certain conduct by nurses be done “willfully or negligent” in order to be subject to discipline;
- Changes the requirement to report a conviction from within 45 to 30 days;
- Removes the requirement for an articulated plan for advanced practice registered nurses seeking prescriptive authority;
- Removes references to nursing articulated plans in the Medical Practice Act and Pharmacy Practice Act;
- Removes the requirement for the Board to conduct random audits of articulated plans;
- Decreases the number of mentorship hours required to obtain full prescriptive authority, from 1,000 to 750 hours;
- Changes and updates references to Advanced Practice Nurse and A.P.N. to Advanced Practice Registered Nurse or A.P.R.N.;
- Removes the age requirement to apply for a volunteer nursing license;
- Defines “collaboration,” “delegation of patient care,” “plan of patient care,” and “licensed health care provider”;
- Removes the requirement that the director of DPO consult with the Board when appointing an executive administrator and that one member of the Board serve on a panel to interview candidates for the position;
- Revises statutes related to the Nurse-Physician Advisory Task Force for Colorado Health Care (NPATCH); and
- Expands on the definition of “practice of practical nursing”.
Two more recent bills also will affect the nursing profession.
HB20-1183 Sunset Continue Certification of Nurse Aides was signed June 29, 2020 and went into effect on July 1, 2020. The law continues the certification of nurse aides by the State Board of Nursing (Board) through September 1, 2027. The new law makes various technical changes and also:
- Relocates provisions related to certified nurse aides to the Nurse Practice Act and changes the name to the Nurse and Nurse Aide Practice Act;
- Modifies the grounds for discipline related to excessive use of alcohol and drugs;
- Changes the waiting period for recertification after a certificate is revoked to two years;
- Repeals the requirement that the State Board of Nurses send notifications of action taken by certified mail and requires such notifications to be issued no later than 30 days from the Board’s action;
- Expands the scope of practice of nurse aides to include changing ostomy bags, administering oxygen, and placing in a minor patient’s mouth medication that was presorted by the minor’s parent or guardian; and
- Clarifies that the regulation of certified nurse aides does not apply to a person directly employed by a medical facility for the first four months, if the employment is part of an approved training program and the certification is not through endorsement.
HB20-1326 Create Occupational Credential Portability Program was signed on June 25, 2020. The law takes effect January 1, 2021 and removes the credential endorsement, reciprocity, or transfer language from the practice acts for most of the professions/occupations under the purview of the Division of Professions and Occupations (Division) and centralizes them in the newly created Occupational Credential Portability Program (Program).
The new law directs the regulators for the affected professions/occupations to implement the Program in the least burdensome way necessary to protect the public. This law also allows military spouses to obtain, at no cost, three-year temporary credentials for any profession or occupation under the purview of the Division, if they hold a credential in good standing from another U.S. jurisdiction.
Under the Program, regulators for the affected professions and occupations shall grant a Colorado credential to an applicant with a credential in good standing from another US jurisdiction, upon:
- Submission of satisfactory proof that the applicant’s experience or credential is substantially equivalent to that specified in Colorado state law and that the applicant has not committed an act that would be unprofessional conduct or grounds for discipline in Colorado.
- Payment of applicable fees.
- Compliance with requirements set out in Colorado state law for the profession or occupation, such as passing an exam.
The following bills may also be of interest:
Implementation of these changes is in process. Questions may be referred to dpo@state.co.us. Please visit the DPO Legislative Update webpage for all updates affecting licensees under the Division’s regulatory authority. Thank you.
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