§321-230  Technical assistance, data
collection, evaluation.  (a)  The department may contract for technical
assistance and consultation, including but not limited to categorization, data
collection, and evaluation appropriate to the needs of the state system.  The
collection and analysis of statewide emergency medical services data, including
pediatrics, trauma, cardiac, medical, and behavioral medical emergencies, shall
be for the purpose of improving the quality of services provided.



The department may implement and maintain a
trauma registry for the collection of information concerning the treatment of
critical trauma patients at state designated trauma centers, and carry out a
system for the management of that information.  The system may provide for the
recording of information concerning treatment received before and after a
trauma patient's admission to a hospital or medical center.  All state
designated trauma centers shall submit to the department of health periodic
reports of each patient treated for trauma in the state system in such manner
as the department shall specify.



For the purposes of this subsection,
"categorization" means systematic identification of the readiness and
capabilities of hospitals and their staffs to adequately, expeditiously, and
efficiently receive and treat emergency patients.



(b)  The department shall establish,
administer, and maintain an aeromedical emergency medical services system
designed to collect and analyze data to measure the efficiency and
effectiveness of each phase of an emergency aeromedical program.



The aeromedical emergency medical services
system shall serve the emergency health needs of the people of the State by
identifying:



(1)  The system's strengths and weaknesses;



(2)  The allocation of resources; and



(3)  The development of rotary-wing emergency
aeromedical services standards;



provided that emergency helicopter use, including
triage protocols, shall be based on national aeromedical triage and transport
guidelines established by the Association of Air Medical Services, the American
College of Surgeons and the National Association of Emergency Medical Service
Physicians.  The department, in the implementation of this subsection, shall
plan, coordinate, and provide assistance to all entities and agencies, public
and private, involved in the system.



(c)  The department shall use an emergency
aeromedical services quality improvement committee comprised of representatives
of trauma, emergency, and tertiary care physicians and providers to analyze
information collected from the aeromedical quality improvement performance
measures as established by the American College of Surgeons, and to recommend
system standards and resources to maintain and improve the Hawaii emergency
aeromedical services system. [L 1978, c 148, pt of §1; am L 1980, c 285, §4; am
L 1981, c 93, §6; am L 1994, c 242, §5; am L 2002, c 150, §1; am L Sp 2003, c
2, §4]