The House Committee on Public Health
76th Legislature
April 25, 2000
10:00 a.m.
Capitol Extension, E2.030
Pursuant to a notice posted on April 6, 2000, the House
Committee on Public Health met in a public hearing and was
called to order by the chair, Representative Gray, at 10:00 a.m.
The roll was answered as follows:
Present: Representatives Gray; Coleman; Capelo; Delisi; Glaze;
Maxey (6).
Absent: Representatives Hilderbran; McClendon; Uresti (3).
A quorum was present.
The chair made opening remarks and announced that the purpose of
the meeting was to address the increased use of new technologies
in the delivery of health care in Texas, as charged by Speaker
Laney.
The chair called upon witnesses who were invited to give the
committee an overview of the implementation status of the
Children's Health Insurance Program, and the status of the
Medicaid managed care program.
The following persons provided oral testimony:
Linda Wertz, State Medicaid Director, Health and Human
Services Commission
Jason Cooke, State CHIP Director, Health and Human Services
Commission
The chair thanked Rep. Maxey for his leadership on this charge,
and announced that Rep. Maxey would chair the remainder of the
meeting.
(Representative Maxey in chair.)
The chair called upon invited witnesses to provide briefings
regarding the use of new technologies in the delivery of health
care on-line.
The following persons provided oral testimony:
Dale Austin, BSN, MA, Deputy Executive Vice-President,
Federation of State Medical Boards
Tom Gallo, Executive Director, E-Health Care Association
The chair called upon invited witnesses to provide briefings
regarding privacy on-line.
The following persons provided oral testimony:
AG Breitenstein, Chief Privacy Officer, choosinghealth.com
Jack Smith, MD, PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of
Health Informatics, University of Texas Health Science
Center
The chair called upon invited witnesses to provide briefings
regarding purchasing on-line.
The following persons provided oral testimony:
Kathy Stewart, Vice President, Pharmacy Managed Care and
Administration, RX.com
Bill Letendre, Board member, Texas Pharmacy Association
Gay Dodson, Executive Director, Texas Board of Pharmacy
Glen Detweiler, License Program Director, Verified Internet
Pharmacy Practice Sites
The chair called upon invited witnesses to provide briefings
regarding prescribing on-line and accuracy of information
on-line.
The following persons provided oral testimony:
R. Russell Thomas, Jr, DO, Vice President, Texas Board of
Medical Examiners
Dennis L. Myers, MD, Director of Health Informatics, Scott
and White
The chair called upon the invited witness to provide a briefing
regarding state considerations.
The following person provided oral testimony:
Ron Scott, University of Houston Health Law and Policy
Institute
The chair called upon the invited witness to provide a briefing
regarding the feasibility of expanding telemedicine to improve
care in underserved areas.
The following person provided oral testimony:
Jack Moncrief, Founding Member, American Telemedicine
Association
The chair called upon invited witnesses to provide briefings
regarding the state of the state.
The following persons provided oral testimony:
Linda Wertz, State Medicaid Director, Health and Human
Services Commission
Kay Ghahremani, Senior Policy Analyst, State Medicaid
Office, Health and Human Services Commission
Gary Grogan, Texas Infrastructure Board
The chair called upon invited witnesses to provide briefings
regarding current initiatives in telemedicine.
The following persons provided oral testimony:
Deborah Seale, Interim Director, Center for Telehealth and
Distance Education University of Texas Medical Branch at
Galveston
Patti Patterson, MD, Vice President for Rural and Community
Health and Medical Director for Telemedicine and
Telehealth, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Sally Anderson, Director, Information Relations, Texas
Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation
James "Red" Duke, MD, Professor of Surgery, University of
Texas Houston Medical School
The chair called upon the invited witness to provide a briefing
regarding current initiatives in teledenistry.
The following person provided oral testimony:
Lars Folke, DDS, Baylor University and Texas A&M University
The chair called upon invited witnesses to provide briefings
regarding various perspective of telemedicine and teledenistry.
The following persons provided oral testimony:
Roland Goertz, MD, Texas Academy of Family Physicians
Diana Prachyl, Texas Dental Hygenists' Association
Sam Tessen, Center for Rural Health Initiatives
Heather Vasek, Texas Association of Home Care
The committee considered public testimony.
(Representative Gray in chair.)
At 5:45 pm, on the motion of the chair and without objection,
the meeting was adjourned subject to the call of the chair.
_______________________________
Rep. Patricia Gray, Chair
_______________________________
Pam Crowley, Chief Clerk