By Dunnam                                             H.B. No. 3395
         Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
         Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to standards for credentialing of health care providers in
 1-3     health care liability claims.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1. Sec. 160.010, Occupations Code, is amended by
 1-6     amending Subsections (b) and (c) and by adding new Subsections (e)
 1-7     and (f) to read as follows:
 1-8           (b)  Except as provided in Subsection (e) of this section, a
 1-9     [A] cause of action does not accrue against a member, agent, or
1-10     employee of a medical peer review committee or against a health
1-11     care entity from any act, statement, determination or
1-12     recommendation made, or act reported, without malice, in the course
1-13     of medical peer review.
1-14           (c)  Except as provided in Subsection (e) of this section, a
1-15     [A] person, medical peer review committee, or health care entity
1-16     that, without malice, participates in medical peer review or
1-17     furnishes records, information, or assistance to a medical peer
1-18     review committee or the board is immune from any civil liability
1-19     arising from that act.
1-20           (e)(1)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this section,
1-21     a hospital or a health maintenance organization is liable to a
1-22     patient without proof of malice if the trier of fact determines by
1-23     a preponderance of the evidence that the members or staff of a
 2-1     medical peer review committee or the officers, agents, employees,
 2-2     or the members of the governing body of a hospital, or the health
 2-3     maintenance organization is negligent with respect to the granting
 2-4     of medical staff privileges or employment, or in retaining members
 2-5     of the medical staff whose privileges are expiring, or in failing
 2-6     to revoke privileges, or in failing to place appropriate
 2-7     limitations on the exercise of privileges, and that such negligence
 2-8     was a proximate cause of injury to or death of the patient in
 2-9     question.
2-10                 (2)  If a hospital or health maintenance organization
2-11     delegates to any other person or entity, including any other health
2-12     care entity, the function of making or conducting any inquiry,
2-13     investigation, screening, recommendation, medical peer review, or
2-14     other similar activity in connection with the granting of medical
2-15     staff privileges or employment, or the retaining of members of the
2-16     medical staff whose privileges are expiring, or the revocation of
2-17     privileges or the placing of appropriate limitations on the
2-18     exercise of the privileges, such duties are deemed to be
2-19     non-delegable duties of the hospital or health maintenance
2-20     organization and the hospital or health maintenance organization
2-21     remains ultimately and solely liable for any negligence of any
2-22     person or entity to whom any such duties are delegated where such
2-23     negligence is a proximate cause of injury to or death of the
2-24     patient in question.
2-25                 (3)  For the purposes of this subsection:
2-26                       (a)  "Hospital" means a duly licensed public or
 3-1     private institution as defined in Chapter 241, Health and Safety
 3-2     Code, or in Section 88, Chapter 243, Acts of the 55th Legislature,
 3-3     Regular Session, 1957 (Article 5547-88, Vernon's Texas Civil
 3-4     Statutes.
 3-5                       (b)  "Health maintenance organization" means an
 3-6     organization licensed under the Texas Health Maintenance
 3-7     Organization Act, Chapter 20A, Texas Insurance Code.
 3-8                       (c)  "Health care liability claim" means a cause
 3-9     of action against a health care provider or physician for
3-10     treatment, lack of treatment, or other claimed departure from
3-11     accepted standards of medical care or health care or safety which
3-12     proximately results in injury to or death of the patient, whether
3-13     the patient's claim or cause of action sounds in tort or contract.
3-14                       (f)  Nothing in this Act is intended to modify or
3-15     limit any privilege against discovery available in a civil action
3-16     to a medical peer review committee or its members under existing
3-17     law.
3-18           SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001, and
3-19     applies only to a cause of action that accrues on or after the
3-20     effective date of this Act.  An action that accrues before the
3-21     effective date is governed by the law in effect immediately before
3-22     that date, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.