1-1 By: Maxey (Senate Sponsor - Moncrief) H.B. No. 110 1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House April 19, 1999; 1-3 April 20, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on Health 1-4 Services; May 13, 1999, reported favorably, as amended, by the 1-5 following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 13, 1999, sent to printer.) 1-6 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1 By: Moncrief 1-7 Amend H.B. 110 on page 2 by striking lines 25 through 27 and 1-8 replacing with the following: 1-9 (13) a description of the final resolution taken by the Board on 1-10 medical malpractice claims or complaints required to be opened by 1-11 the Board under Section 5.05(f) of the Act. 1-12 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-13 AN ACT 1-14 relating to public access to certain information regarding medical 1-15 practitioners. 1-16 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-17 SECTION 1. Section 5.07(a), Medical Practice Act (Article 1-18 4495b, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as 1-19 follows: 1-20 (a) Within 30 days after the initial conviction or the 1-21 initial finding of the trier of fact of guilt of a person known to 1-22 be a physician, licensed or otherwise lawfully practicing in this 1-23 state or applying to be so licensed to practice, of any offense 1-24 constituting a felony, a Class A or Class B misdemeanor, or a Class 1-25 C misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, a violation of state or 1-26 federal narcotics or controlled substance laws, or an offense 1-27 involving fraud or abuse under the Medicare or Medicaid programs, 1-28 whether or not the conviction, adjudication, or finding is entered, 1-29 withheld, or appealed under the laws of this state, the clerk of 1-30 the court of record in which the conviction, adjudication, or 1-31 finding was entered shall prepare and forward to the Department of 1-32 Public Safety the information required under Chapter 60, Code of 1-33 Criminal Procedure, for use in the computerized criminal history 1-34 system. 1-35 SECTION 2. Subchapter E, Medical Practice Act (Article 1-36 4495b, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by adding Section 1-37 5.12 to read as follows: 1-38 Sec. 5.12. PHYSICIAN PROFILES. (a) The board shall create 1-39 a profile of each physician licensed under this Act. The profile 1-40 must: 1-41 (1) include the information required by Subsection (b) 1-42 of this section; and 1-43 (2) be compiled in a format that permits the board to 1-44 make the information contained in the profile available to the 1-45 public. 1-46 (b) A profile must contain the following information on each 1-47 physician: 1-48 (1) the name of each medical school attended and the 1-49 dates of: 1-50 (A) graduation; or 1-51 (B) Fifth Pathway designation and completion of 1-52 the Fifth Pathway Program; 1-53 (2) a description of all graduate medical education in 1-54 the United States or Canada; 1-55 (3) any specialty certification held by the physician 1-56 and issued by a medical licensing board that is a member of the 1-57 American Board of Medical Specialties or the Bureau of Osteopathic 1-58 Specialists; 1-59 (4) the number of years the physician has actively 1-60 practiced medicine in: 1-61 (A) the United States or Canada; and 1-62 (B) this state; 1-63 (5) the name of each hospital in this state in which 2-1 the physician has privileges; 2-2 (6) the physician's primary practice location; 2-3 (7) the type of language translating services, 2-4 including translating services for a person with impairment of 2-5 hearing, that the physician provides at the physician's primary 2-6 practice location; 2-7 (8) whether the physician participates in the Medicaid 2-8 program; 2-9 (9) a description of any conviction for an offense 2-10 constituting a felony, a Class A or Class B misdemeanor, or a Class 2-11 C misdemeanor involving moral turpitude during the 10-year period 2-12 preceding the date of the profile; 2-13 (10) a description of any charges reported to the 2-14 board during the 10-year period preceding the date of the profile 2-15 to which the physician has pleaded no contest, for which the 2-16 physician is the subject of deferred adjudication or pretrial 2-17 diversion, or in which sufficient facts of guilt were found and the 2-18 matter was continued by a court of competent jurisdiction; 2-19 (11) a description of any disciplinary action against 2-20 the physician by the board during the 10-year period preceding the 2-21 date of the profile; 2-22 (12) a description of any disciplinary action against 2-23 the physician by a medical licensing board of another state during 2-24 the 10-year period preceding the date of the profile; 2-25 (13) a description of the types of medical malpractice 2-26 claims or complaints reported as resolved under Section 5.05(f) of 2-27 this Act in a five-year period; 2-28 (14) whether the physician's patient service areas are 2-29 accessible to disabled persons, as defined by federal law; and 2-30 (15) a description of any formal complaint against the 2-31 physician initiated and filed under Section 4.03 of this Act and 2-32 the status of the complaint. 2-33 (c) Information required to be included under Subsection (b) 2-34 of this section that is not maintained by the board in the ordinary 2-35 course of the board's duties shall be obtained from a physician at 2-36 the time the physician renews the physician's license. In 2-37 requesting information from the physician, the board shall inform 2-38 the physician that compliance with the request for information is 2-39 mandatory, inform the physician of the date the information will be 2-40 made available to the public, and instruct the physician of the 2-41 requirements under Subsection (f) of this section for the physician 2-42 to obtain a copy of the physician's profile to make corrections. 2-43 (d) This section does not: 2-44 (1) prevent the board from providing explanatory 2-45 information regarding the significance of categories in which 2-46 malpractice settlements are reported; or 2-47 (2) require the board to disclose confidential 2-48 settlement information. 2-49 (e) A pending malpractice claim or complaint, other than a 2-50 claim disclosed under Subsection (b)(13) of this section, may not 2-51 be disclosed to the public by the board. This subsection does not 2-52 prevent the board from investigating and disciplining a physician 2-53 on the basis of a pending medical malpractice claim or complaint. 2-54 (f) The board shall provide an individual physician with a 2-55 copy of the physician's profile if the physician requests a copy at 2-56 the time the physician renews the physician's license. If a copy 2-57 is requested by a physician the board shall provide the physician 2-58 one month from the date the copy is provided to the physician to 2-59 correct factual errors in the physician's profile. 2-60 (g) The board shall update the information contained in a 2-61 physician's profile annually. The board shall adopt a form that 2-62 allows a physician to update information contained in a physician's 2-63 profile. The form shall be made available on the Internet and in 2-64 other formats as prescribed by board rule. The board may adopt 2-65 rules concerning the type and content of additional information 2-66 that may be included in a physician's profile. 2-67 (h) The board shall adopt rules as necessary to implement 2-68 this section. 2-69 SECTION 3. (a) Each state agency listed in Subsection (b) 3-1 of this section shall provide a cost estimate, including 3-2 methodology, regarding the establishment and administration of a 3-3 profile program for persons licensed or regulated by the agency 3-4 similar to the program established by the Texas State Board of 3-5 Medical Examiners under Section 5.12, Medical Practice Act (Article 3-6 4495b, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), as added by this Act. 3-7 (b) This section applies to the: 3-8 (1) Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners; 3-9 (2) State Board of Dental Examiners; 3-10 (3) Texas Board of Occupational Therapy Examiners; 3-11 (4) Texas Optometry Board; 3-12 (5) Texas State Board of Pharmacy; 3-13 (6) Texas Board of Physical Therapy Examiners; 3-14 (7) Texas State Board of Podiatric Medical Examiners; 3-15 and 3-16 (8) Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists. 3-17 (c) An agency required to provide a cost estimate under this 3-18 section shall report, not later than January 1, 2000, the results 3-19 of the study to the presiding officer of each house of the 77th 3-20 Legislature, Regular Session, 2001. 3-21 SECTION 4. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1999. 3-22 (b) The change in law made by this Act to Section 5.07(a), 3-23 Medical Practice Act (Article 4495b, Vernon's Texas Civil 3-24 Statutes), applies only to a conviction or finding of guilt for an 3-25 offense that is made on or after the effective date of this Act. A 3-26 conviction or finding made before the effective date of this Act is 3-27 governed by the law in effect on the date of the conviction or 3-28 finding, and the former law is continued in effect for that 3-29 purpose. 3-30 (c) The Texas State Board of Medical Examiners shall adopt 3-31 rules under Section 5.12, Medical Practice Act (Article 4495b, 3-32 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), as added by this Act, not later 3-33 than April 1, 2000. The board shall make the initial physician 3-34 profiles required under this Act available to the public not later 3-35 than September 1, 2001. 3-36 (d) The Texas State Board of Medical Examiners shall raise 3-37 fees prescribed by the board in an amount not to exceed $20 for 3-38 each fiscal year in the 2000-2001 biennium and not to exceed $10 3-39 for each fiscal year in the 2002-2003 biennium for each physician 3-40 licensed by the board to cover the costs of administering the 3-41 changes in law made by this Act. The board shall reduce any fees 3-42 raised under this subsection not later than the second anniversary 3-43 of the date the initial physician profiles required under this Act 3-44 are made available to the public to the extent the increase in fee 3-45 amounts was necessary to cover the initial costs incurred by the 3-46 board in establishing a physician profile system. 3-47 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the 3-48 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 3-49 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 3-50 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 3-51 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended. 3-52 * * * * *