Creates the healthcare worker platform act that requires platforms offering healthcare shifts to register with the Rhode Island department of health while exempting them from being classified as nursing service agencies.

# Summary of the Healthcare Worker Platform Act

This bill creates a new law called the "Healthcare Worker Platform Act," which addresses technology platforms that connect healthcare workers with available shifts at healthcare facilities. Think of these platforms as apps or websites — similar to how gig economy apps work — where healthcare professionals can browse and pick up open shifts at hospitals, nursing homes, or other medical facilities. The bill would require these platforms to formally register with the Rhode Island Department of Health in order to operate in the state.

A key part of the bill is that it draws a legal distinction between these digital shift-matching platforms and traditional nursing service agencies (commonly known as staffing agencies). Under current law, organizations that place nurses and other healthcare workers into facilities are typically regulated as nursing service agencies, which comes with specific rules and requirements. This bill would exempt these technology platforms from being classified and regulated as nursing service agencies, essentially creating a separate, distinct category for them with its own registration process.

This legislation would primarily affect the companies that operate these healthcare shift platforms, the healthcare workers who use them to find work, and the healthcare facilities that rely on them to fill staffing gaps. By requiring registration with the Department of Health, the state would gain oversight of these platforms, while the exemption from nursing service agency rules could make it easier or less costly for these platforms to operate in Rhode Island. The bill was introduced in the Rhode Island House and referred to the Health & Human Services Committee, which has recommended holding it for further study, with a hearing scheduled for January 2026.