By Madla S.R. No. 908
75R16647 PB-D
R E S O L U T I O N
1-1 BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the State of Texas, 75th
1-2 Legislature, Regular Session, 1997, That Senate Rule 12.03 be
1-3 suspended in part as provided by Senate Rule 12.08 to enable the
1-4 conference committee appointed to resolve the differences on House
1-5 Bill 2846 to consider and take action on the following matters:
1-6 (1) Senate Rules 12.03(3) and (4) are suspended to permit
1-7 the committee to add text incorporating a new Section in the bill,
1-8 appropriately numbered, to amend Section 3.10, Medical Practice Act
1-9 (Article 4495b, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), to read as follows:
1-10 SECTION ____. Section 3.10, Medical Practice Act (Article
1-11 4495b, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), as amended by Chapters 214
1-12 and 862, Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is
1-13 amended to read as follows:
1-14 Sec. 3.10. FEES. (a) All annual registration fees collected
1-15 by the board shall be placed in the State Treasury to the credit of
1-16 the medical registration fund. The fees deposited to this special
1-17 fund shall be credited to the appropriations of the board and may
1-18 be spent only as provided by the General Appropriations Act, this
1-19 Act, or other applicable statutes. Money in that fund may be used
1-20 by the board and under its direction in the enforcement of this
1-21 Act, the prohibition of the unlawful practice of medicine, the
1-22 dissemination of information to prevent the violation of the laws,
1-23 and the prosecution of those who violate the laws. All
1-24 distributions from the fund may be made only upon written approval
2-1 of the secretary-treasurer of the board or his designated
2-2 representative, and the comptroller shall upon requisition of the
2-3 board from time to time draw warrants upon the State Treasurer for
2-4 the amounts specified in the requisition.
2-5 (b) The board may not set, charge, collect, receive, or
2-6 deposit any of the following fees in excess of:
2-7 (1) for processing and granting a license by
2-8 reciprocity to a licensee of another
2-9 state ............................ $1,000 [$700]
2-10 (2) for processing an application and
2-11 administration of a partial examination
2-12 for licensure ................. $1,000 [$700]
2-13 (3) for processing an application and
2-14 administration of a complete examination
2-15 for licensure ................. $1,000 [$700]
2-16 (4) for processing an application and issuance of a
2-17 temporary license ......................... $200
2-18 (5) for processing an application and issuance of a
2-19 duplicate license ......................... $200
2-20 (6) for processing an application and issuance of a
2-21 license of reinstatement after a lapse or
2-22 cancellation of a license ........ $1,000 [$700]
2-23 (7) for processing an application and issuance of an
2-24 annual registration of a licensee ......... $200
2-25 (8) for processing and issuance of an institutional
2-26 permit for interns, residents, and others in
2-27 approved medical training programs ........ $200
3-1 (9) for processing an application and issuance of
3-2 an endorsement to other state medical
3-3 boards .................................... $200
3-4 (10) for processing and issuance of a license or
3-5 temporary license to a physician
3-6 assistant ................................. $200
3-7 (11) for processing and issuance of a permit to a
3-8 physician who supervises an
3-9 acupuncturist ............................ $200.
3-10 (c) [(b)] The board may set and collect a sales charge for
3-11 making copies of any paper of record in the office of the board and
3-12 for any printed material published by the board. The charges shall
3-13 be in amounts considered sufficient to reimburse the board for the
3-14 actual expense.
3-15 (d) [(c)] The financial transactions of the board are
3-16 subject to audit by the state auditor in accordance with Chapter
3-17 321, Government Code.
3-18 (e) [(d)] The board shall file annually with the governor
3-19 and the presiding officer of each house of the legislature a
3-20 complete and detailed written report accounting for all funds
3-21 received and disbursed by the board during the preceding fiscal
3-22 year. The annual report must be in the form and reported in the
3-23 time provided by the General Appropriations Act.
3-24 Explanation: This change is necessary to increase certain
3-25 fees assessed by the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners to
3-26 levels that cover the administrative costs of that agency in
3-27 providing the affected services.
4-1 (2) Senate Rules 12.03(3) and (4) are suspended to permit
4-2 the committee to add text incorporating a new Section in the bill,
4-3 appropriately numbered, to amend the Medical Practice Act (Article
4-4 4495b, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) to add a new Section 5.11 to
4-5 read as follows:
4-6 SECTION _____. Subchapter E, Medical Practice Act (Article
4-7 4495b, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by adding
4-8 Section 5.11 to read as follows:
4-9 Sec. 5.11. PHYSICIAN PROFILES. (a) The board shall create
4-10 a profile of each physician licensed under this Act. The profile
4-11 must:
4-12 (1) include the information required by Subsection (b)
4-13 of this section; and
4-14 (2) be compiled in a format that permits the board to
4-15 make the information contained in the profile available to the
4-16 public.
4-17 (b) A profile must contain the following information on each
4-18 physician:
4-19 (1) the name of each medical school attended and the
4-20 dates of graduation;
4-21 (2) a description of any graduate medical education;
4-22 (3) any specialty certification recognized by the
4-23 board and held by the physician;
4-24 (4) the number of years the physician has practiced
4-25 medicine;
4-26 (5) the name of each hospital in which the physician
4-27 has privileges;
5-1 (6) the physician's primary practice location;
5-2 (7) whether the physician provides any language
5-3 translating services, including translating services for a person
5-4 with impairment of hearing, at the physician's primary practice
5-5 location;
5-6 (8) whether the physician participates in the Medicaid
5-7 program;
5-8 (9) a description of any conviction for an offense
5-9 constituting a felony or a serious misdemeanor that reflects
5-10 adversely on the physician's clinical competence to practice
5-11 medicine in an acceptable manner consistent with the public health
5-12 and welfare or affects adversely:
5-13 (A) the physician's ability to practice medicine
5-14 in an acceptable manner consistent with the public health and
5-15 welfare, as determined by board rule, during the 10-year period
5-16 preceding the date of the profile; or
5-17 (B) the safety of the physician's patients;
5-18 (10) a description of any charges reported to the
5-19 board under Section 5.07(a) of this Act during the 10-year period
5-20 preceding the date of the profile to which the physician has
5-21 pleaded no contest or in which sufficient facts of guilt were found
5-22 and the matter was continued by a court of competent jurisdiction;
5-23 (11) a description of any final disciplinary action
5-24 against the physician by the board during the 10-year period
5-25 preceding the date of the profile;
5-26 (12) a description of any final disciplinary action
5-27 against the physician by a medical licensing board of another state
6-1 during the 10-year period preceding the date of the profile;
6-2 (13) a description of any revocation of or involuntary
6-3 restriction of longer than 30 days on the physician's hospital
6-4 privileges, after notice and hearing, imposed by the hospital's
6-5 governing body or other hospital official that was based on
6-6 clinical quality of patient care during the 10-year period
6-7 preceding the date of the profile;
6-8 (14) a description of any resignation from or
6-9 nonrenewal of medical staff membership or restriction on hospital
6-10 privileges of longer than 30 days that was based on clinical
6-11 quality of patient care imposed as a settlement of a pending
6-12 disciplinary proceeding during the 10-year period preceding the
6-13 date of the profile;
6-14 (15) a description of the type of allegation and of
6-15 each review action taken by the board as the result of opening a
6-16 complaint regarding a physician against whom three or more
6-17 malpractice claims were reported under Section 5.05 of this Act in
6-18 a five-year period; and
6-19 (16) whether the physician's patient service areas are
6-20 accessible to disabled persons, as defined by federal law.
6-21 (c) Information required to be included under Subsection (b)
6-22 of this section that is not maintained by the board in the ordinary
6-23 course of the board's duties shall be obtained from a physician at
6-24 the time the physician renews the physician's license. In
6-25 requesting information from the physician, the board shall inform
6-26 the physician that compliance with the request for information is
6-27 mandatory, inform the physician of the date the information will be
7-1 made available to the public, and instruct the physician of the
7-2 requirements under Subsection (f) of this section for the physician
7-3 to obtain a copy of the physician's profile to make corrections.
7-4 (d) This section does not prevent the board from providing
7-5 explanatory information regarding the significance of categories in
7-6 which malpractice settlements are reported.
7-7 (e) A pending malpractice claim, other than a claim
7-8 disclosed under Subsection (b)(15) of this section, may not be
7-9 disclosed to the public by the board. This subsection does not
7-10 prevent the board from investigating and disciplining a physician
7-11 on the basis of a pending medical malpractice claim.
7-12 (f) The board shall provide an individual physician with a
7-13 copy of the physician's profile if the physician requests a copy at
7-14 the time the physician renews the physician's license. If a copy
7-15 is requested by a physician the board shall provide the physician
7-16 one month from the date the copy is provided to the physician to
7-17 correct factual errors in the physician's profile.
7-18 (g) The board shall update the information contained in a
7-19 physician's profile annually. The board shall adopt a form that
7-20 allows a physician to update information contained in a physician's
7-21 profile or to provide additional information to be included in the
7-22 profile. The form shall be made available electronically and on
7-23 the Internet. A physician may update information in the
7-24 physician's profile or provide additional information for the
7-25 profile at any time. The board may assess a fee to be paid by the
7-26 physician to update the physician's profile at a time other than
7-27 the board's annual update and a fee to cover the costs of including
8-1 additional information in the profile not required by the board.
8-2 The board may adopt rules concerning the type and content of
8-3 additional information that may be included in a physician's
8-4 profile.
8-5 (h) The board shall adopt rules as necessary to implement
8-6 this section.
8-7 Explanation: This change is necessary to authorize the Texas
8-8 State Board of Medical Examiners to establish a physician profiling
8-9 system to improve the efficiency of that agency in regulating the
8-10 practice of medicine in this state.
8-11 (3) Senate Rules 12.03(3) and (4) are suspended to permit
8-12 the committee to add text incorporating transitional material in
8-13 the bill to implement the amendment to Section 3.10, Medical
8-14 Practice Act (Article 4495b, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), and
8-15 the addition of Section 5.11, Medical Practice Act (Article 4495b,
8-16 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), to read as follows:
8-17 (b) Section 3.10, Medical Practice Act (Article 4495b,
8-18 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), as amended by this Act, applies
8-19 only to a fee assessed for a license application, license issuance,
8-20 or license examination occurring on or after the effective date of
8-21 this Act.
8-22 (c) The Texas State Board of Medical Examiners shall adopt
8-23 rules under Section 5.11, Medical Practice Act (Article 4495b,
8-24 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), as added by this Act, not later
8-25 than January 1, 1998. The board shall make the initial physician
8-26 profiles required under that section available to the public not
8-27 later than June 1, 1999.
9-1 (d) The Texas State Board of Medical Examiners shall raise
9-2 fees prescribed by the board in an amount not to exceed $15 for
9-3 each fiscal year in the 1998-1999 biennium and not to exceed $10
9-4 for each fiscal year in the 2000-2001 biennium for each physician
9-5 licensed by the board to cover the costs of administering the
9-6 changes in law made by this Act. The board shall reduce any fees
9-7 raised under this subsection not later than the second anniversary
9-8 of the date the initial physician profiles required under Section
9-9 5.11, Medical Practice Act (Article 4495b, Vernon's Texas Civil
9-10 Statutes), as added by this Act, are made available to the public
9-11 to the extent the increase in fee amounts was necessary to cover
9-12 the initial costs incurred by the board in establishing a physician
9-13 profile system.
9-14 Explanation: This change is necessary to clarify the
9-15 implementation of the new fee increases and physician profiling
9-16 system adopted under the amendments to the Medical Practice Act
9-17 (Article 4495b, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes).