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Senate Bill 156 |
Senate Author: Huffman |
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Effective: 9-1-11 |
House Sponsor: Gonzales, Veronica |
Senate Bill 156 amends the Health and Safety Code to establish the Texas Bleeding Disorders Advisory Council to conduct studies and advise the Department of State Health Services (DSHS), the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), and the Texas Department of Insurance on certain information submitted to or collected by DSHS related to hemophilia or other bleeding or clotting disorders, the disclosure and dissemination of that information, and other issues that affect the health and wellness of persons living with hemophilia or other bleeding or clotting disorders. The bill sets out administrative provisions relating to the council and accounts for the transfer of duties from the Texas Health Care Information Council to DSHS. Previous law required the Texas Health Care Information Council to establish a scientific review panel to review and approve requests for information other than public use data. The bill instead requires DSHS to establish an institutional review board to review and approve requests for access to data not contained in public use data.
While previous law prohibited DSHS from providing confidential information collected by DSHS to any other state agency, Senate Bill 156 authorizes, under certain circumstances, the provision of such data to HHSC or a health and human services agency. The bill authorizes the disclosure of data collected by DSHS that is not included in public use data to any program within DSHS if the disclosure is approved by the institutional review board, provides for the confidentiality of information so disclosed, and makes specified provisions relating to the confidentiality of certain information inapplicable to the disclosure of data to a DSHS program. The bill repeals a provision relating to the Texas Health Care Information Council.