1-1     By:  Hochberg (Senate Sponsor - Zaffirini)             H.B. No. 561

 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House May 7, 1997;

 1-3     May 8, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on Health

 1-4     and Human Services; May 14, 1997, reported favorably by the

 1-5     following vote:  Yeas 10, Nays 0; May 14, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to the exchange of information between certain health care

 1-9     regulatory agencies.

1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-11           SECTION 1.  Title 7, Government Code, is amended by adding

1-12     Chapter 774 to read as follows:

1-13                CHAPTER 774.  EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION BETWEEN

1-14                             REGULATORY AGENCIES

1-15           Sec. 774.001.  DEFINITIONS.  In this chapter:

1-16                 (1)  "Health care provider" means a person who has been

1-17     issued a license by a health care regulatory agency.

1-18                 (2)  "Health care regulatory agency" means a regulatory

1-19     agency that:

1-20                       (A)  appoints a member of the Health Professions

1-21     Council; or

1-22                       (B)  is supervised by the health licensing

1-23     division of the Texas Department of Health.

1-24                 (3)  "License" includes a license, certificate,

1-25     registration, permit, or other authorization, required by law or

1-26     state agency rule, that a person must obtain to practice or engage

1-27     in a particular business or occupation.

1-28                 (4)  "Regulatory agency" means an agency, including a

1-29     department, commission, board, or office, that:

1-30                       (A)  is created by the constitution or by

1-31     statute;

1-32                       (B)  is in the executive branch of state

1-33     government;

1-34                       (C)  has statewide authority; and

1-35                       (D)  has authority to deny, grant, renew, revoke,

1-36     or suspend a license.

1-37           Sec. 774.002.  DUTY TO EXCHANGE INFORMATION.  (a)  A health

1-38     care regulatory agency that, in the course of an audit, review,

1-39     investigation, or examination of a complaint, obtains information

1-40     pertaining to the complaint that it believes may be grounds for

1-41     another health care regulatory agency to conduct an investigation

1-42     of or institute a disciplinary proceeding against a health care

1-43     provider shall forward the information and any subsequently

1-44     obtained information or final determination regarding the health

1-45     care provider to the other health care regulatory agency.

1-46           (b)  Information that may be grounds for investigative or

1-47     disciplinary action by another health care regulatory agency

1-48     includes information:

1-49                 (1)  that relates to a violation of a rule or statute

1-50     enforced by the other health care regulatory agency; or

1-51                 (2)  that, in the good faith belief of the agency

1-52     obtaining the information, is likely to lead to the discovery of a

1-53     violation of a rule or statute enforced by the other health care

1-54     regulatory agency.

1-55           (c)  Information forwarded by a health care regulatory agency

1-56     under this section that is privileged or confidential retains its

1-57     privileged or confidential nature following the receipt by another

1-58     health care regulatory agency.  The privilege or confidentiality

1-59     extends to any agency communication concerning the information

1-60     forwarded, regardless of the form, manner, or content of the

1-61     communication.

1-62           (d)  The forwarding of privileged or confidential information

1-63     by a health care regulatory agency does not waive a privilege in or

1-64     create an exception to the confidentiality of the information.

 2-1           (e)  An agency's provision of information or failure to

 2-2     provide information under this section does not give rise to a

 2-3     cause of action against the agency.

 2-4           Sec. 774.003.  PROCEDURE FOR EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION.  (a)  A

 2-5     health care regulatory agency shall establish and implement written

 2-6     procedures to ensure that information obtained that is required to

 2-7     be forwarded under Section 774.002 is forwarded to the appropriate

 2-8     health care regulatory agency not later than the 15th day after the

 2-9     date the agency determines that the information is information that

2-10     it believes may be grounds for another health care regulatory

2-11     agency to conduct an investigation of or institute a disciplinary

2-12     proceeding against a health care provider under Section 774.002.

2-13           (b)  A procedure adopted under this section must provide that

2-14     the executive head of a health care regulatory agency or the

2-15     executive head's designee may forward information under this

2-16     section only to the executive head or the executive head's designee

2-17     of the appropriate health care regulatory agency.

2-18           (c)  In this section, "executive head" means the director,

2-19     executive director, commissioner, administrator, chief clerk, or

2-20     other individual who is appointed by the governing body or highest

2-21     officer of a health care regulatory agency to act as the chief

2-22     executive or administrative officer of the agency and who is not an

2-23     appointed officer.

2-24           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997, and

2-25     applies only to information obtained by a health care regulatory

2-26     agency on or after the effective date of this Act.  Information

2-27     obtained by a health care regulatory agency before the effective

2-28     date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date it

2-29     was obtained, and the former law is continued in effect for that

2-30     purpose.

2-31           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-32     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-33     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-34     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-35     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

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