By Gallego H.B. No. 747 76R11106 JRD-D A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to certain evaluations made by the governing body of a 1-3 hospital district, hospital authority, or public hospital. 1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-5 SECTION 1. Section 1.03(a)(6), Medical Practice Act (Article 1-6 4495b, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as 1-7 follows: 1-8 (6) "Medical peer review committee" or "professional 1-9 review body" means a committee of a health-care entity, the 1-10 governing board of a health-care entity, or the medical staff of a 1-11 health-care entity, provided the committee or medical staff 1-12 operates pursuant to written bylaws that have been approved by the 1-13 policy-making body or the governing board of the health-care entity 1-14 and authorized to evaluate the quality of medical and health-care 1-15 services or the competence of physicians, including those functions 1-16 specified by Section 85.204, Health and Safety Code, and its 1-17 subsequent amendments. Such a committee includes the employees and 1-18 agents of the committee, including assistants, investigators, 1-19 intervenors, attorneys, and any other persons or organizations that 1-20 serve the committee in any capacity. The term "medical peer review 1-21 committee" or "professional review body" includes the governing 1-22 body of a public hospital owned or operated by a governmental 1-23 entity, the governing body of a hospital authority created under 1-24 Chapter 262 or 264, Health and Safety Code, and the governing body 2-1 of a hospital district created under Article IX, Texas 2-2 Constitution, but only: 2-3 (A) in relation to the governing body's 2-4 evaluation of the competence of a physician or the quality of 2-5 medical and health care services provided by the public hospital, 2-6 hospital authority, or hospital district; and 2-7 (B) to the extent that the evaluation under 2-8 Paragraph (A) involves discussions or records that specifically or 2-9 necessarily identify an individual patient or physician. 2-10 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the 2-11 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 2-12 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 2-13 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 2-14 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended, 2-15 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its 2-16 passage, and it is so enacted.