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Senate Bill 346 |
Senate Author: Nelson et al. |
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Effective: 9-1-09 |
House Sponsor: Kolkhorst et al. |
Senate Bill 346 amends the Health and Safety Code to expand the immunization registry to permit information regarding an individual 18 years of age or older to be submitted to and maintained by the registry. The bill establishes procedures for the submission and maintenance of such information, including requiring written or electronic consent before the registry may include the information of an individual who is 18 years of age or older. The bill requires the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to coordinate with the Texas Education Agency to distribute educational materials regarding the immunization registry to students and parents through local school districts and requires the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission to develop guidelines and procedures for obtaining consent from an individual after the individual's 18th birthday.
Senate Bill 346 authorizes an insurance company, a health maintenance organization, or another organization that pays a health care provider to provide health care benefits that receives data elements from a provider who administers an immunization to an individual 18 years of age or older, along with the health care provider, to submit the data elements to DSHS. The bill also requires DSHS to develop educational information for health care facilities that provide health care to children 14 to 18 years of age relating to the immunization registry and the option for an individual who is 18 years of age or older to consent to submission and retention of the individual's information in the immunization registry.