Organ Donation Referral Improvement Act

This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services to study how hospitals use electronic systems that automatically refer possible organ donors. These systems scan a patient’s electronic health record for clinical signs that someone could be a deceased donor and send that information to the hospital’s organ procurement organization. The study and its report must be finished within one year of the law taking effect.

The study must look at how these tools affect staff time, how quickly eligibility is decided, and whether they do better than manual screening. It must review benefits of using electronic medical records and standard criteria, the impact on donation numbers when referrals are automated, published research, best practices, and how to keep patient information secure. It must also include recommendations to promote these tools and outline what is needed to use them nationwide, followed by a report to Congress. The bill defines “electronic automated referral” as an electronic system that identifies potential donors from electronic health records and automatically refers them to organ procurement organizations.

• Who is affected: Hospitals, organ procurement organizations, and the Department of Health and Human Services.
• What changes: A national study of automated donor referrals, with recommendations based on evidence, best practices, and data security needs.
• When: The study and the report are due within one year after the law takes effect.