1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to public access to certain information regarding medical
1-3 practitioners.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 5.07(a), Medical Practice Act (Article
1-6 4495b, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as
1-7 follows:
1-8 (a) Within 30 days after the initial conviction or the
1-9 initial finding of the trier of fact of guilt of a person known to
1-10 be a physician, licensed or otherwise lawfully practicing in this
1-11 state or applying to be so licensed to practice, of any offense
1-12 constituting a felony, a Class A or Class B misdemeanor, or a Class
1-13 C misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, a violation of state or
1-14 federal narcotics or controlled substance laws, or an offense
1-15 involving fraud or abuse under the Medicare or Medicaid programs,
1-16 whether or not the conviction, adjudication, or finding is entered,
1-17 withheld, or appealed under the laws of this state, the clerk of
1-18 the court of record in which the conviction, adjudication, or
1-19 finding was entered shall prepare and forward to the Department of
1-20 Public Safety the information required under Chapter 60, Code of
1-21 Criminal Procedure, for use in the computerized criminal history
1-22 system.
1-23 SECTION 2. Subchapter E, Medical Practice Act (Article
1-24 4495b, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by adding Section
2-1 5.12 to read as follows:
2-2 Sec. 5.12. PHYSICIAN PROFILES. (a) The board shall create
2-3 a profile of each physician licensed under this Act. The profile
2-4 must:
2-5 (1) include the information required by Subsection (b)
2-6 of this section; and
2-7 (2) be compiled in a format that permits the board to
2-8 make the information contained in the profile available to the
2-9 public.
2-10 (b) A profile must contain the following information on each
2-11 physician:
2-12 (1) the name of each medical school attended and the
2-13 dates of:
2-14 (A) graduation; or
2-15 (B) Fifth Pathway designation and completion of
2-16 the Fifth Pathway Program;
2-17 (2) a description of all graduate medical education in
2-18 the United States or Canada;
2-19 (3) any specialty certification held by the physician
2-20 and issued by a medical licensing board that is a member of the
2-21 American Board of Medical Specialties or the Bureau of Osteopathic
2-22 Specialists;
2-23 (4) the number of years the physician has actively
2-24 practiced medicine in:
2-25 (A) the United States or Canada; and
2-26 (B) this state;
2-27 (5) the name of each hospital in this state in which
3-1 the physician has privileges;
3-2 (6) the physician's primary practice location;
3-3 (7) the type of language translating services,
3-4 including translating services for a person with impairment of
3-5 hearing, that the physician provides at the physician's primary
3-6 practice location;
3-7 (8) whether the physician participates in the Medicaid
3-8 program;
3-9 (9) a description of any conviction for an offense
3-10 constituting a felony, a Class A or Class B misdemeanor, or a Class
3-11 C misdemeanor involving moral turpitude during the 10-year period
3-12 preceding the date of the profile;
3-13 (10) a description of any charges reported to the
3-14 board during the 10-year period preceding the date of the profile
3-15 to which the physician has pleaded no contest, for which the
3-16 physician is the subject of deferred adjudication or pretrial
3-17 diversion, or in which sufficient facts of guilt were found and the
3-18 matter was continued by a court of competent jurisdiction;
3-19 (11) a description of any disciplinary action against
3-20 the physician by the board during the 10-year period preceding the
3-21 date of the profile;
3-22 (12) a description of any disciplinary action against
3-23 the physician by a medical licensing board of another state during
3-24 the 10-year period preceding the date of the profile;
3-25 (13) a description of the final resolution taken by
3-26 the board on medical malpractice claims or complaints required to
3-27 be opened by the board under Section 5.05(f) of this Act;
4-1 (14) whether the physician's patient service areas are
4-2 accessible to disabled persons, as defined by federal law; and
4-3 (15) a description of any formal complaint against the
4-4 physician initiated and filed under Section 4.03 of this Act and
4-5 the status of the complaint.
4-6 (c) Information required to be included under Subsection (b)
4-7 of this section that is not maintained by the board in the ordinary
4-8 course of the board's duties shall be obtained from a physician at
4-9 the time the physician renews the physician's license. In
4-10 requesting information from the physician, the board shall inform
4-11 the physician that compliance with the request for information is
4-12 mandatory, inform the physician of the date the information will be
4-13 made available to the public, and instruct the physician of the
4-14 requirements under Subsection (f) of this section for the physician
4-15 to obtain a copy of the physician's profile to make corrections.
4-16 (d) This section does not:
4-17 (1) prevent the board from providing explanatory
4-18 information regarding the significance of categories in which
4-19 malpractice settlements are reported; or
4-20 (2) require the board to disclose confidential
4-21 settlement information.
4-22 (e) A pending malpractice claim or complaint, other than a
4-23 claim disclosed under Subsection (b)(13) of this section, may not
4-24 be disclosed to the public by the board. This subsection does not
4-25 prevent the board from investigating and disciplining a physician
4-26 on the basis of a pending medical malpractice claim or complaint.
4-27 (f) The board shall provide an individual physician with a
5-1 copy of the physician's profile if the physician requests a copy at
5-2 the time the physician renews the physician's license. If a copy
5-3 is requested by a physician the board shall provide the physician
5-4 one month from the date the copy is provided to the physician to
5-5 correct factual errors in the physician's profile.
5-6 (g) The board shall update the information contained in a
5-7 physician's profile annually. The board shall adopt a form that
5-8 allows a physician to update information contained in a physician's
5-9 profile. The form shall be made available on the Internet and in
5-10 other formats as prescribed by board rule. The board may adopt
5-11 rules concerning the type and content of additional information
5-12 that may be included in a physician's profile.
5-13 (h) The board shall adopt rules as necessary to implement
5-14 this section.
5-15 SECTION 3. (a) Each state agency listed in Subsection (b)
5-16 of this section shall provide a cost estimate, including
5-17 methodology, regarding the establishment and administration of a
5-18 profile program for persons licensed or regulated by the agency
5-19 similar to the program established by the Texas State Board of
5-20 Medical Examiners under Section 5.12, Medical Practice Act (Article
5-21 4495b, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), as added by this Act.
5-22 (b) This section applies to the:
5-23 (1) Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners;
5-24 (2) State Board of Dental Examiners;
5-25 (3) Texas Board of Occupational Therapy Examiners;
5-26 (4) Texas Optometry Board;
5-27 (5) Texas State Board of Pharmacy;
6-1 (6) Texas Board of Physical Therapy Examiners;
6-2 (7) Texas State Board of Podiatric Medical Examiners;
6-3 and
6-4 (8) Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists.
6-5 (c) An agency required to provide a cost estimate under this
6-6 section shall report, not later than January 1, 2000, the results
6-7 of the study to the presiding officer of each house of the 77th
6-8 Legislature, Regular Session, 2001.
6-9 SECTION 4. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
6-10 (b) The change in law made by this Act to Section 5.07(a),
6-11 Medical Practice Act (Article 4495b, Vernon's Texas Civil
6-12 Statutes), applies only to a conviction or finding of guilt for an
6-13 offense that is made on or after the effective date of this Act. A
6-14 conviction or finding made before the effective date of this Act is
6-15 governed by the law in effect on the date of the conviction or
6-16 finding, and the former law is continued in effect for that
6-17 purpose.
6-18 (c) The Texas State Board of Medical Examiners shall adopt
6-19 rules under Section 5.12, Medical Practice Act (Article 4495b,
6-20 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), as added by this Act, not later
6-21 than April 1, 2000. The board shall make the initial physician
6-22 profiles required under this Act available to the public not later
6-23 than September 1, 2001.
6-24 (d) The Texas State Board of Medical Examiners shall raise
6-25 fees prescribed by the board in an amount not to exceed $20 for
6-26 each fiscal year in the 2000-2001 biennium and not to exceed $10
6-27 for each fiscal year in the 2002-2003 biennium for each physician
7-1 licensed by the board to cover the costs of administering the
7-2 changes in law made by this Act. The board shall reduce any fees
7-3 raised under this subsection not later than the second anniversary
7-4 of the date the initial physician profiles required under this Act
7-5 are made available to the public to the extent the increase in fee
7-6 amounts was necessary to cover the initial costs incurred by the
7-7 board in establishing a physician profile system.
7-8 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
7-9 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
7-10 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
7-11 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
7-12 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
_______________________________ _______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 110 was passed by the House on April
16, 1999, by a non-record vote; and that the House concurred in
Senate amendments to H.B. No. 110 on May 20, 1999, by a non-record
vote.
_______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 110 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 18, 1999, by a viva-voce vote.
_______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor