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SB297 INTRODUCED
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SB297
84R5822-1
By Senators Stutts, Gudger, Livingston, Givhan, Butler
RFD: Healthcare
First Read: 12-Feb-26
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84R5822-1 02/11/2026 JWB (L)JWB 2026-835
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First Read: 12-Feb-26
SYNOPSIS:
This bill would require hospitals and
freestanding emergency departments to report
information regarding physician availability to the
Alabama Department of Public Health on a quarterly
basis.
This bill would require the Alabama Department
of Public Health to publish the information collected
publicly on the department's website.
This bill would require hospitals to indicate
whether a physician is physically present in the
hospital's emergency department both physically and on
the hospital's website.
This bill would authorize the Alabama Department
of Public Health to suspend or revoke a license to
operate a hospital for violations.
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
Relating to hospitals; to require hospitals and
freestanding emergency departments to report certain staffing
information to the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH);
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information to the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH);
to require ADPH to publish the information on its website; and
to require each hospital to publicly indicate whether a
physician is physically present in the hospital's emergency
department.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. (a) Each hospital and freestanding emergency
department in this state shall report quarterly to the Alabama
Department of Public Health the following information for each
emergency department under the hospital or freestanding
emergency department's operation:
(1) The total number of hours where at least one
physician was physically present and on duty in the emergency
department.
(2) The total number of hours where the emergency
department was operating while a physician was not physically
present in the emergency department.
(b) The Alabama Department of Public Health shall
publish the information collected pursuant to subsection (a)
on the department's website. The information shall be
organized into a searchable, standardized format with
facility-specific and aggregate statistics.
(c) Each hospita l, both virtually on its website and
physically in the hospital's emergency department waiting
room, shall post or display one of the following statements,
depending on whether a physician is physically present in the
emergency department:
(1) If a physician is physically present, the statement
shall read, "A physician is physically present in the
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shall read, "A physician is physically present in the
emergency department at this time."
(2) If there is no physician physically present, the
statement shall read, "A physician is not physically present
in the emergency department at this time."
(d)(1) For purposes of this section, a physician shall
be considered physically present if, in the emergency
department, there is a licensed doctor of medicine or doctor
of osteopathy who is on-site, immediately available for
emergency patient care, and primarily responsible for clinical
oversight of the department.
(2) A physician shall not be considered physically
present if a physician is:
a. Only available by telephone or telemedicine;
b. Located off-site, including within the same hospital
campus but not in the emergency department;
c. On-call but not physically present; or
d. Covering multiple emergency departments
simultaneously.
(e) The Alabama Department of Public Health may suspend
or revoke a license granted to allow operation of a hospital
under Article 2, Chapter 21 of Title 22, Code of Alabama 1975,
for violations of this section.
Section 2. This act shall become effective on July 1,
2026.
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