BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

                                                                                                                                    C.S.H.B. 1060

                                                                                                                                           By: Parker

                                                                                                                                     Transportation

                                                                                                        Committee Report (Substituted)

 

 

 

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

 

New advancements in technology bring with it more efficient and effective ways for the healthcare industry to supply medical service.  However, one recent technological advancement that the healthcare industry is statutory prohibited from employing is the data contained on one's form of personal identification.  If scanned at the point of service, a patient's form of personal identification can gather necessary demographic and medical information in real time and absent the threat of an error in manual data entry.

 

C.S.H.B. 1060 corrects this problem by allowing healthcare providers the option to electronically scan a patient's form of personal identification for the purpose of gathering necessary demographical information and accessing past medical records.

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. 

 

ANALYSIS

 

C.S.H.B. 1060 amends Section 521.126 of the Transportation Code to:

 

1. Allow a healthcare provider or      hospital access to the necessary information contained on an individual's      driver's license, commercial driver's license or personal identification      certificate by providing them with the option to scan a patient's above      mentioned forms of personal identification opposed to manually receiving      and entering the data.   

 

2. And to allow a healthcare provider      or hospital to transfer information obtained by the above listed forms of      personal identification to another healthcare vendor, organization, or      individual so long as the information transfer is done within accordance      of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of      1996, and is done so to provide healthcare services to the individual      subject to the transferred information.

 

EFFECTIVE DATE

 

September 1, 2007.

 

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

 

C.S.H.B. 1060 adds the language necessary to allow a healthcare provider or hospital to transfer information obtained by the above listed forms of personal identification to another healthcare vendor, organization, or individual so long as the information transfer is done within accordance of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, and is done so to provide healthcare services to the individual subject to the transferred information.