By Maxey H.B. No. 110
76R1184 SMH-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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 not
1-12 punishable by fine only [a felony, a misdemeanor involving moral
1-13 turpitude], a violation of state or federal narcotics or controlled
1-14 substance laws, or an offense involving fraud or abuse under the
1-15 Medicare or Medicaid programs, whether or not the conviction,
1-16 adjudication, or finding is entered, withheld, or appealed under
1-17 the laws of this state, the clerk of the court of record in which
1-18 the conviction, adjudication, or finding was entered shall:
1-19 (1) prepare and forward to the Department of Public
1-20 Safety the information required under Chapter 60, Code of Criminal
1-21 Procedure, for use in the computerized criminal history system; and
1-22 (2) send a copy of the information to the board.
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 graduation;
2-14 (2) a description of any graduate medical education;
2-15 (3) any specialty certification recognized by the
2-16 board and held by the physician;
2-17 (4) the number of years the physician has practiced
2-18 medicine;
2-19 (5) the name of each hospital in which the physician
2-20 has privileges;
2-21 (6) the physician's primary practice location;
2-22 (7) whether the physician provides any language
2-23 translating services, including translating services for a person
2-24 with impairment of hearing, at the physician's primary practice
2-25 location;
2-26 (8) whether the physician participates in the Medicaid
2-27 program;
3-1 (9) a description of any conviction for an offense
3-2 constituting a felony or a serious misdemeanor that reflects
3-3 adversely on the physician's clinical competence to practice
3-4 medicine in an acceptable manner consistent with the public health
3-5 and welfare or affects adversely:
3-6 (A) the physician's ability to practice medicine
3-7 in an acceptable manner consistent with the public health and
3-8 welfare, as determined by board rule, during the 10-year period
3-9 preceding the date of the profile; or
3-10 (B) the safety of the physician's patients;
3-11 (10) a description of any charges reported to the
3-12 board under Section 5.07(a) of this Act during the 10-year period
3-13 preceding the date of the profile to which the physician has
3-14 pleaded no contest or in which sufficient facts of guilt were found
3-15 and the matter was continued by a court of competent jurisdiction;
3-16 (11) a description of any final disciplinary action
3-17 against the physician by the board during the 10-year period
3-18 preceding the date of the profile;
3-19 (12) a description of any final disciplinary action
3-20 against the physician by a medical licensing board of another state
3-21 during the 10-year period preceding the date of the profile;
3-22 (13) a description of any revocation of or involuntary
3-23 restriction of longer than 30 days on the physician's hospital
3-24 privileges, after notice and hearing, imposed by the hospital's
3-25 governing body or other hospital official that was based on
3-26 clinical quality of patient care during the 10-year period
3-27 preceding the date of the profile;
4-1 (14) a description of any resignation from or
4-2 nonrenewal of medical staff membership or restriction on hospital
4-3 privileges of longer than 30 days that was based on clinical
4-4 quality of patient care imposed as a settlement of a pending
4-5 disciplinary proceeding during the 10-year period preceding the
4-6 date of the profile;
4-7 (15) a description of the type of allegation and of
4-8 each review action taken by the board as the result of opening a
4-9 complaint regarding a physician against whom three or more
4-10 malpractice claims were reported under Section 5.05 of this Act in
4-11 a five-year period; and
4-12 (16) whether the physician's patient service areas are
4-13 accessible to disabled persons, as defined by federal law.
4-14 (c) Information required to be included under Subsection (b)
4-15 of this section that is not maintained by the board in the ordinary
4-16 course of the board's duties shall be obtained from a physician at
4-17 the time the physician renews the physician's license. In
4-18 requesting information from the physician, the board shall inform
4-19 the physician that compliance with the request for information is
4-20 mandatory, inform the physician of the date the information will be
4-21 made available to the public, and instruct the physician of the
4-22 requirements under Subsection (f) of this section for the physician
4-23 to obtain a copy of the physician's profile to make corrections.
4-24 (d) This section does not prevent the board from providing
4-25 explanatory information regarding the significance of categories in
4-26 which malpractice settlements are reported.
4-27 (e) A pending malpractice claim, other than a claim
5-1 disclosed under Subsection (b)(15) of this section, may not be
5-2 disclosed to the public by the board. This subsection does not
5-3 prevent the board from investigating and disciplining a physician
5-4 on the basis of a pending medical malpractice claim.
5-5 (f) The board shall provide an individual physician with a
5-6 copy of the physician's profile if the physician requests a copy at
5-7 the time the physician renews the physician's license. If a copy
5-8 is requested by a physician the board shall provide the physician
5-9 one month from the date the copy is provided to the physician to
5-10 correct factual errors in the physician's profile.
5-11 (g) The board shall update the information contained in a
5-12 physician's profile annually. The board shall adopt a form that
5-13 allows a physician to update information contained in a physician's
5-14 profile or to provide additional information to be included in the
5-15 profile. The form shall be made available electronically and on
5-16 the Internet. A physician may update information in the
5-17 physician's profile or provide additional information for the
5-18 profile at any time. The board may assess a fee to be paid by the
5-19 physician to update the physician's profile at a time other than
5-20 the board's annual update and a fee to cover the costs of including
5-21 additional information in the profile not required by the board.
5-22 The board may adopt rules concerning the type and content of
5-23 additional information that may be included in a physician's
5-24 profile.
5-25 (h) The board shall adopt rules as necessary to implement
5-26 this section.
5-27 SECTION 3. (a) Each state agency listed in Subsection (b)
6-1 of this section shall provide a cost estimate, including
6-2 methodology, regarding the establishment and administration of a
6-3 profile program for persons licensed or regulated by the agency
6-4 similar to the program established by the Texas State Board of
6-5 Medical Examiners under Section 5.12, Medical Practice Act (Article
6-6 4495b, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), as added by this Act.
6-7 (b) This section applies to the:
6-8 (1) Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners;
6-9 (2) State Board of Dental Examiners;
6-10 (3) Texas Board of Occupational Therapy Examiners;
6-11 (4) Texas Optometry Board;
6-12 (5) Texas State Board of Pharmacy;
6-13 (6) Texas Board of Physical Therapy Examiners;
6-14 (7) Texas State Board of Podiatric Medical Examiners;
6-15 and
6-16 (8) Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists.
6-17 (c) An agency required to provide a cost estimate under this
6-18 section shall report, not later than January 1, 2000, the results
6-19 of the study to the presiding officer of each house of the 77th
6-20 Legislature, Regular Session, 2001.
6-21 SECTION 4. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
6-22 (b) The change in law made by this Act to Section 5.07(a),
6-23 Medical Practice Act (Article 4495b, Vernon's Texas Civil
6-24 Statutes), applies only to a conviction or finding of guilt for an
6-25 offense that is made on or after the effective date of this Act. A
6-26 conviction or finding made before the effective date of this Act is
6-27 governed by the law in effect on the date of the conviction or
7-1 finding, and the former law is continued in effect for that
7-2 purpose.
7-3 (c) The Texas State Board of Medical Examiners shall adopt
7-4 rules under Section 5.12, Medical Practice Act (Article 4495b,
7-5 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), as added by this Act, not later
7-6 than January 1, 2000. The board shall make the initial physician
7-7 profiles required under this Act available to the public not later
7-8 than June 1, 2001.
7-9 (d) The Texas State Board of Medical Examiners shall raise
7-10 fees prescribed by the board in an amount not to exceed $15 for
7-11 each fiscal year in the 2000-2001 biennium and not to exceed $10
7-12 for each fiscal year in the 2002-2003 biennium for each physician
7-13 licensed by the board to cover the costs of administering the
7-14 changes in law made by this Act. The board shall reduce any fees
7-15 raised under this subsection not later than the second anniversary
7-16 of the date the initial physician profiles required under this Act
7-17 are made available to the public to the extent the increase in fee
7-18 amounts was necessary to cover the initial costs incurred by the
7-19 board in establishing a physician profile system.
7-20 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
7-21 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
7-22 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
7-23 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
7-24 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.