By: Nelson  S.B. No. 1187
         (In the Senate - Filed March 6, 2007; March 14, 2007, read
  first time and referred to Committee on Health and Human Services;
  April 2, 2007, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
  Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 9, Nays 0; April 2, 2007,
  sent to printer.)
 
  COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1187 By:  Nelson
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to data collection at the Department of State Health
  Services.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  The heading to Chapter 108, Health and Safety
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
  CHAPTER 108. TEXAS HEALTH CARE INFORMATION COLLECTION PROGRAM
  [COUNCIL]
         SECTION 2.  Section 108.001, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 108.001.  TEXAS HEALTH CARE INFORMATION COLLECTION
  PROGRAM [CREATION OF COUNCIL].  The Department of State [Texas]
  Health Services [Care Information Council] shall administer this
  chapter and report to the governor, the legislature, and the
  public.
         SECTION 3.  Section 108.002, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended by amending Subdivisions (1), (3), (5), (6), (7), (8),
  (12), (16), (17), (20), (21), and (22) and adding Subdivisions
  (4-a), (8-a), (11-a), (14-a), (17-a), and (21-a) to read as
  follows:
               (1)  "Accurate and consistent data" means data that has
  been edited by the department [council] and subject to provider
  validation and certification.
               (3)  "Certification" means the process by which a
  provider confirms the accuracy and completeness of the data set
  required to produce the public use data file in accordance with
  department [council] rule.
               (4-a)  "Commission" means the Health and Human Services
  Commission.
               (5)  "Confidential data" means data that is made
  confidential under this chapter, other state law, or federal
  law ["Council" means the Texas Health Care Information Council].
               (6)  "Data" means the material or collection of facts
  on which a discussion or an inference is based [information
  collected under Section 108.0065 or 108.009 in the form initially
  received].
               (7)  "Department" means the [Texas] Department of State
  Health Services.
               (8)  "Edit" means to use an electronic standardized
  process developed and implemented by the department [council rule]
  to identify potential errors and mistakes in data elements by
  reviewing data fields for the presence or absence of data and the
  accuracy and appropriateness of data.
               (8-a)  "Executive commissioner" means the executive
  commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission.
               (11-a)  "Health practitioner" means an individual
  licensed under the laws of this state to practice chiropractic,
  dentistry, nursing, podiatry, or psychology under Title 3,
  Occupations Code.
               (12)  "Hospital" means a public, for-profit, or
  nonprofit institution licensed or owned by this state that is a
  general or special hospital, private mental hospital, [chronic
  disease hospital,] or other type of hospital.
               (14-a)  "Program director" means the primary
  department employee responsible for performing the functions and
  exercising the authority of the program director and includes the
  program director's designee.
               (16)  "Provider quality" means the extent to which a
  provider renders care that, within the capabilities of modern
  health profession disciplines [medicine], obtains for patients
  [medically] acceptable health outcomes and prognoses, after risk
  [severity] adjustment.
               (17)  "Public use data" means patient level data
  relating to individual hospitalizations that has [not been
  summarized or analyzed, that has] had patient identifying
  information removed, that identifies physicians and health
  practitioners only by use of uniform physician or health
  practitioner identifiers, and that is [severity and risk adjusted,]
  edited[,] and verified for accuracy and consistency. Public use
  data may exclude some data elements submitted to the department
  [council]. Public use data does not include confidential data.
               (17-a)  "Risk adjustment" means a process applied to
  data to allow for statistical comparisons between providers to
  statistically control for different risk factors in patients that
  may affect their health care outcomes.
               (20)  "Uniform patient identifier" means an identifier
  [a number] assigned by the department [council] to an individual
  patient and composed of numeric, alpha, or alphanumeric characters.
               (21)  "Uniform physician or health practitioner
  identifier" means an identifier [a number] assigned by the
  department [council] to an individual physician or health
  practitioner and composed of numeric, alpha, or alphanumeric
  characters.
               (21-a)  "Utilization report" means a provider level
  report of aggregate data prepared to the specifications of a
  requestor in which the state expresses no finding or opinion.
               (22)  "Validation" means the process that [by which a
  provider] verifies the accuracy and completeness of data and
  corrects any errors identified before certification in accordance
  with department [council] rule.
         SECTION 4.  Chapter 108, Health and Safety Code, is amended
  by adding Section 108.0055 to read as follows:
         Sec. 108.0055.  POWERS AND DUTIES OF EXECUTIVE COMMISSIONER.  
  The executive commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to
  administer this chapter.
         SECTION 5.  Section 108.006, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 108.006.  POWERS AND DUTIES OF DEPARTMENT [COUNCIL].  
  (a)  The department [council] shall develop a statewide health care
  data collection system to collect health care charges, utilization
  data, provider quality reports [data], and outcome data to
  facilitate the promotion and accessibility of cost-effective, good
  quality health care. The department [council] shall:
               (1)  direct the collection, dissemination, and
  analysis of data under this chapter;
               (2)  [contract with the department to collect the data
  under this chapter;
               [(3)]  adopt policies and recommend rules necessary to
  carry out this chapter, including rules concerning data collection
  requirements;
               (3) [(4)]  build on and not duplicate other data
  collection required by state or federal law[, by an accreditation
  organization,] or by executive commissioner [board] rule;
               (4) [(5)]  working with appropriate agencies, review
  public health data collection programs in this state and recommend,
  where appropriate, consolidation of the programs and any
  legislation necessary to effect the consolidation or obtain data
  collected by other state agencies;
               (5) [(6)]  assure that public use data is made
  available and accessible to interested persons;
               (6)  recommend rules regarding [(7)     prescribe by
  rule] the process for providers to submit data consistent with
  Section 108.009;
               (7) [(8)     adopt by rule and implement a methodology to
  collect and disseminate data reflecting provider quality in
  accordance with Section 108.010;
               [(9)]  make annual reports to the legislature, the
  governor, and the public on:
                     (A)  the charges and rate of change in the charges
  for health care services in this state;
                     (B)  the effectiveness of the department
  [council] in carrying out the legislative intent of this chapter;
                     (C)  if applicable, any recommendations on the
  need for further legislation; and
                     (D)  the quality and effectiveness of health care
  and access to health care for all citizens of this state;
               (8) [(10)]  develop an annual work plan and establish
  priorities to accomplish its duties;
               (9) [(11)]  provide consumer education on the
  interpretation and understanding of the public use data or provider
  quality reports [data] before the data or reports are [is]
  disseminated to the public;
               (10) [(12)]  work with the commission [Health and Human
  Services Commission] and each health and human services agency that
  administers a part of the state Medicaid program to avoid
  duplication of expenditures of state funds for computer systems,
  staff, or services in the collection and analysis of data relating
  to the state Medicaid program; and
               (11)  provide data and [(13)     work with the Department
  of Information Resources in developing and implementing the
  statewide health care data collection system and maintain
  consistency with Department of Information Resources standards;
  and
               [(14)  develop and implement a health care] information
  [plan] to be used by the department to:
                     (A)  support public health and preventative
  health initiatives;
                     (B)  assist in the delivery of primary and
  preventive health care services;
                     (C)  facilitate the establishment of appropriate
  benchmark data to measure performance improvements;
                     (D)  establish and maintain a systematic approach
  to the collection, storage, and analysis of health care data for
  longitudinal, epidemiological, and policy impact studies; and
                     (E)  develop and use system-based protocols to
  identify individuals and populations at risk.
         (b)  The department [council] may recommend[:
               [(1)     employ or contract with the department to employ
  an executive director and other staff, including administrative
  personnel, necessary to comply with this chapter and rules adopted
  under this chapter;
               [(2)     engage professional consultants as it considers
  necessary to the performance of its duties;
               [(3)  adopt] rules clarifying which health care
  facilities must provide data under this chapter[; and
               [(4)     apply for and receive any appropriation,
  donation, or other funds from the state or federal government or any
  other public or private source, subject to Section 108.015 and
  limitations and conditions provided by legislative appropriation].
         (c)  The department [council] may not establish or recommend
  rates of payment for health care services.
         [(d)     The council may not take an action that affects or
  relates to the validity, status, or terms of an interagency
  agreement or a contract with the department without the board's
  approval.]
         (e)  In the collection of data, the department [council]
  shall consider the research and initiatives being pursued by the
  United States Department of Health and Human Services, the National
  Committee for Quality Assurance, and the Joint Commission on
  Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations to reduce potential
  duplication or inconsistencies. The executive commissioner
  [council] may not adopt rules that conflict with or duplicate any
  federally mandated data collection programs or requirements of
  comparable scope.
         (f)  The department [council] shall recommend rules on
  [prescribe by rule] a public use data element list [file minimum
  data set] that maintains patient confidentiality and establishes
  data accuracy and consistency.
         (g)  The public use data element list [file minimum data set]
  as defined by [council] rule is subject to annual review by the
  department [council with the assistance of the advisory committee
  under Section 108.003(g)(5). The purpose of the review is] to
  evaluate requests to modify the existing public use [minimum] data
  element list [set] and editing process of those data elements. A
  decision to modify the public use [minimum] data element list [set]
  by the addition or deletion of data elements shall include
  consideration of the value of the specific data to be added or
  deleted and the technical feasibility of establishing data accuracy
  and consistency. The department [council] may also consider the
  costs to the department [council] and providers associated with
  modifying the public use [minimum] data element list [set].
         (h)  In accordance with Sections 108.013(k), (l), (m), and
  (n) and [Section] 108.0135, the department [council] may release
  data collected under Section 108.009 that is not included in the
  public use data element list [file minimum data set] established
  under this chapter [Subsection (f)].
         SECTION 6.  Section 108.007, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 108.007.  REVIEW POWERS.  (a)  The [council, through
  the] department, [and] subject to reasonable rules and guidelines,
  may:
               (1)  inspect documents and records used by data sources
  that are required to compile data and reports; and
               (2)  compel providers to produce accurate documents and
  records.
         (b)  The department [council] may enter into a memorandum of
  understanding with a state agency[, including the division of the
  Health and Human Services Commission responsible for the state
  Medicaid program,] or with a school of public health or another
  institution of higher education[,] to share data and expertise, to
  obtain data for the department [council], or to make data available
  to the department [council]. An agreement entered into under this
  subsection must protect patient confidentiality.
         SECTION 7.  Section 108.009, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 108.009.  DATA SUBMISSION AND COLLECTION.  (a)  The
  department [council] may collect, and, except as provided by
  Subsections (c) and (d), providers shall submit to the department
  [council] or another entity as determined by the department
  [council], all data required by this section or by rule. The data
  shall be collected according to uniform submission formats, coding
  systems, and other technical specifications necessary to make the
  incoming data substantially valid, consistent, compatible, and
  manageable using electronic data processing, if available.
         (b)  The department [council] shall recommend [adopt] rules
  to implement the data submission requirements imposed by Subsection
  (a) in appropriate stages to allow for the development of efficient
  systems for the collection and submission of the data. A rule
  [adopted by the council] that requires submission of a data element
  that, before adoption of the rule, was not required to be submitted
  may not take effect before the 90th day after the date the rule is
  adopted and must take effect not later than the first anniversary
  after the date the rule is adopted.
         (c)  A rural provider may, but is not required to, provide
  the data required by this chapter. A hospital may, but is not
  required to, provide the data required by this chapter if the
  hospital:
               (1)  is exempt from state franchise, sales, ad valorem,
  or other state or local taxes; and
               (2)  does not seek or receive reimbursement for
  providing health care services to patients from any source,
  including:
                     (A)  the patient or any person legally obligated
  to support the patient;
                     (B)  a third-party payor; or
                     (C)  Medicaid, Medicare, or any other federal,
  state, or local program for indigent health care.
         (d)  The department [council] may not collect data from
  individual physicians or health practitioners or from an entity
  that is composed entirely of physicians or health practitioners and
  that is a professional association organized under the Texas
  Professional Association Act (Article 1528f, Vernon's Texas Civil
  Statutes) or formed under the Texas Professional Association Law,
  as described by Section 1.008, Business Organizations Code, a
  limited liability partnership organized under Section 3.08, Texas
  Revised Partnership Act (Article 6132b-3.08, Vernon's Texas Civil
  Statutes), or described by Subchapter J, Chapter 152, Business
  Organizations Code, or a limited liability company organized under
  the Texas Limited Liability Company Act (Article 1528n, Vernon's
  Texas Civil Statutes) or formed under the Texas Limited Liability
  Company Law, as described by Section 1.008, Business Organizations
  Code, except to the extent the entity owns and operates a health
  care facility in this state. This subsection does not prohibit the
  release of data about physicians or health practitioners using
  uniform physician or health practitioner identifiers that has been
  collected from a health care facility under this chapter.
         [(e)     The council shall establish the department as the
  single collection point for receipt of data from providers. With
  the approval of the council and the board, the department may
  transfer collection of any data required to be collected by the
  department under any other law to the statewide health care data
  collection system.]
         (f)  The department [council] may not require providers to
  submit data more frequently than quarterly, but providers may
  submit data on a more frequent basis.
         (g)  The department may [council shall] coordinate data
  collection with the data collection formats used by federally
  qualified health centers. To satisfy the requirements of this
  chapter:
               (1)  a federally qualified health center shall submit
  annually to the department [council] a copy of the Medicaid cost
  report of federally qualified health centers; and
               (2)  a provider receiving federal funds under 42 U.S.C.
  Section 254b, 254c, or 256 shall submit annually to the department
  [council] a copy of the Bureau of Common Reporting Requirements
  data report developed by the United States Public Health Service.
         (h)  The department [council] shall coordinate data
  collection with the data submission formats used by hospitals and
  other providers. The department [council] shall accept data in the
  format developed by the American National Standards Institute
  [National Uniform Billing Committee (Uniform Hospital Billing Form
  UB 92) and HCFA-1500] or its [their] successors or other nationally
  [universally] accepted standardized format or forms that hospitals
  and other providers use for other complementary purposes.
         (i)  The department [council] shall recommend rules on
  [develop by rule] reasonable alternate data submission procedures
  for providers that do not possess electronic data processing
  capacity to create electronic claims.
         (k)  The department [council] shall collect health care data
  elements relating to payer type, the racial and ethnic background
  of patients, and the use of health care services by consumers.
         (m)  To the extent feasible, the department [council] shall
  obtain from public records the information that is available from
  those records.
         (o)  A provider of a health benefit plan shall annually
  submit to the department [council] aggregate data by service area
  required by the Health Plan Employer Data Information Set (HEDIS)
  data as operated by the National Committee for Quality Assurance.
  The department [council] may approve the submission of data in
  accordance with other methods generally used by the health benefit
  plan industry. If the Health Plan Employer Data Information Set
  does not generally apply to a health benefit plan, the department
  [council] shall require submission of data in accordance with other
  methods. This subsection does not relieve a health care facility
  that provides services under a health benefit plan from the
  requirements of this chapter. Information submitted under this
  section is subject to Sections [Section] 108.011 and 108.013(k),
  (l), (m), and (n), but is not subject to Section 108.010.
         SECTION 8.  Chapter 108, Health and Safety Code, is amended
  by adding Section 108.0095 to read as follows:
         Sec. 108.0095.  CHANGE IN OWNERSHIP BY ENTITY REQUIRED TO
  SUBMIT DATA. An entity that acquires, by merger, acquisition, or
  other transfer, ownership of a health care facility or an
  organization that owns or operates a health benefit plan that is
  required to submit data under this chapter shall report the change
  in ownership to the department.
         SECTION 9.  Section 108.010, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 108.010.  [COLLECTION AND] DISSEMINATION OF PROVIDER
  QUALITY REPORTS [DATA].  (a)  Subject to Section 108.009, the
  department [council] shall gather [collect] data reflecting
  provider quality and shall produce provider quality reports based
  on a methodology and review process established through the
  executive commissioner's [council's] rulemaking process. The
  methodology shall identify and measure quality standards and adhere
  to any federal mandates.
         [(b)     The council shall study and analyze initial
  methodologies for obtaining provider quality data, including
  outcome data.]
         (c)  The department [council] shall test each initial
  provider quality report [the] methodology for a period of time to be
  determined by the department [by collecting provider quality data
  for one year, subject to Section 108.009]. This requirement to test
  a methodology applies only to methodologies that have not
  previously been used by the department. The department [council]
  may test using pilot methodologies. Any [After collecting provider
  quality data for one year, the council shall report findings
  applicable to a provider to that provider and allow the provider to
  review and comment on the initial provider quality data applicable
  to that provider. The council shall verify the accuracy of the data
  during this review and revision process. After the review and
  revision process,] provider quality [data for subsequent] reports
  shall be published and made available to the public, on a time
  schedule the department [council] considers appropriate.
         (d)  If the department [council] determines that a provider
  quality report [data] to be published under Subsection (c) does not
  provide the intended result or is inaccurate or inappropriate for
  dissemination, the department [council] is not required to publish
  or release the report [data or reports based in whole or in part on
  the data]. This subsection does not affect the release of public
  use data in accordance with Section 108.011 or utilization reports
  requested under Chapter 552, Government Code [the release of
  information submitted under Section 108.009(o)].
         (e)  The department shall allow [council shall adopt rules
  allowing] a provider to submit concise written comments regarding
  any specific provider quality report [data] to be released
  concerning the provider. The department [council] shall make the
  comments available to the public at the department [office of the
  council] and in an electronic form accessible through the Internet.
  The comments shall be attached to any public release of a provider
  quality report [data]. Providers shall submit the comments to the
  department [council] to be attached to the public release of a
  provider quality report [data] in the same format as the provider
  quality report [data] that is to be released.
         (f)  The methodology adopted by the department [council] for
  measuring quality shall include one or more adjustment methods,
  such as case-mix qualifiers, risk adjustment factors, severity
  adjustment factors, adjustments for medical education and
  research, or [and] any other factors necessary to accurately
  reflect provider quality.
         (g)  In addition to the requirements of this section, any
  release of provider quality reports [data] shall comply with
  Section 108.011(f) [Sections 108.011(e) and (f)].
         (h)  A provider quality [data] report may not identify an
  individual physician or health practitioner by name, but must
  identify the physician by the uniform physician or health
  practitioner identifier designated by the department [council]
  under Section 108.011(c).
         (i)  The department may [council shall] release utilization
  reports without the review and comment by any provider [quality
  data in an aggregate form without uniform physician identifiers
  when:
               [(1)     the data relates to providers described by
  Section 108.0025(1); or
               [(2)     the cell size of the data is below the minimum
  size established by council rule that would enable identification
  of an individual patient or physician].
         SECTION 10.  Section 108.011, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 108.011.  DISSEMINATION OF PUBLIC USE DATA AND
  DEPARTMENT [COUNCIL] PUBLICATIONS.  (a)  The department [council]
  shall promptly provide public use data and data collected in
  accordance with Section 108.009(o) to those requesting it. The
  public use data does not include [provider quality data prescribed
  by Section 108.010 or] confidential data prescribed by Section
  108.013.
         (b)  Subject to the restrictions on access to department
  [council] data prescribed by Section [Sections 108.010 and]
  108.013, and using the public use data and other data, records, and
  matters of record available to it, the department [council] shall
  prepare and issue reports to the governor, the legislature, and the
  public as provided by this section and Section 108.006(a). The
  department [council] must issue the reports at least annually.
         (c)  Subject to the restrictions on access to department
  [council] data prescribed by Section [Sections 108.010 and]
  108.013, the department [council] shall use public use data to
  prepare and issue reports that provide information relating to
  providers, such as the incidence rate of selected medical or
  surgical procedures. The reports must provide the data in a manner
  that identifies individual providers, including individual
  physicians, and that identifies and compares data elements for all
  providers. Individual physicians or health practitioners may not
  be identified by name, but shall be identified by uniform physician
  or health practitioner identifiers. The department [council by
  rule] shall recommend rules and designate the characters to be used
  as uniform physician or health practitioner identifiers.
         (c-1)  The department [council] shall use public use data to
  prepare and issue reports that provide information for review and
  analysis by the commission [Health and Human Services Commission]
  relating to services that are provided in a niche hospital, as
  defined by Section 105.002, Occupations Code, and that are provided
  by a physician with an ownership interest in the niche hospital.
         (c-2)  Subsection (c-1) does not apply to an ownership
  interest in publicly available shares of a registered investment
  company, such as a mutual fund, that owns publicly traded equity
  securities or debt obligations issued by a niche hospital or an
  entity that owns the niche hospital.
         (d)  The department [council] shall adopt procedures to
  establish the accuracy and consistency of the public use data
  before releasing the public use data to the public.
         (e)  If public use data is requested from the department
  [council] about a specific provider, the department [council] shall
  notify the provider about the release of the data. This subsection
  does not authorize the provider to interfere with the release of
  that data.
         (f)  A report issued by the department [council] shall
  include a reasonable review [and comment] period for the affected
  providers before public release of the report.
         (g)  The department [council] shall provide a process [adopt
  rules] allowing a provider to submit concise written comments
  regarding any specific public use data to be released concerning
  the provider. The department [council] shall make the comments
  available to the public [and the office of the council] and in an
  electronic form accessible through the Internet. The comments
  shall be attached to any public release of the public use data.
  Providers shall submit the comments to the department [council] to
  be attached to the public release of public use data in the same
  format as the public use data that is to be released.
         (h)  Media devices [Tapes] containing public use data and
  provider quality reports that are released to the public must
  include general consumer education material, including an
  explanation of the benefits and limitations of the information
  provided in the public use data and provider quality reports.
         (i)  The department [council] shall release public use data
  [in an aggregate form] without uniform physician or health
  practitioner identifiers when:
               (1)  the data relates to providers described by Section
  108.0025(1); or
               (2)  the [cell size of the] data [is below the minimum
  size established by council rule that] would enable easy
  identification of an individual patient, [or] physician, or health
  practitioner when combined with other data elements from the public
  use data element list.
         (j)  Notwithstanding Section 552.021 or 552.221, Government
  Code, the department is not required to make data available or
  produce data for inspection or duplication under Chapter 552,
  Government Code, until the program director has verified the data
  as reasonably accurate.
         SECTION 11.  Section 108.012, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 108.012.  COMPUTER ACCESS TO DATA.  (a)  The department
  [council] shall provide a means for computer
  [computer-to-computer] access to the public use data. All data and
  reports shall maintain patient confidentiality as provided by
  Section 108.013.
         (b)  The department [council] may charge a person requesting
  public use data or data used in provider quality reports [data] a
  fee for the data. The fees may reflect the quantity of information
  provided and the expense incurred by the department [council] in
  collecting and providing the data [and shall be set at a level that
  will raise revenue sufficient for the operation of the council. The
  council may not charge a fee for providing public use data to
  another state agency].
         SECTION 12.  Section 108.013, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 108.013.  CONFIDENTIALITY AND GENERAL ACCESS TO DATA.  
  (a)  The data received by the department [council] shall be used by
  the department [council] for the benefit of the public. [Subject to
  specific limitations established by this chapter and council rule,
  the council shall make determinations on requests for information
  in favor of access.]
         (b)  The department [council by rule] shall designate the
  characters to be used as uniform patient and physician or health
  practitioner identifiers. The basis for assignment of the
  characters and the manner in which the characters are assigned are
  confidential.
         (c)  Unless specifically authorized by this chapter, the
  department [council] may not release and a person or entity may not
  gain access to any data:
               (1)  that could reasonably be expected to reveal the
  identity of a patient;
               (2)  that could reasonably be expected to reveal the
  identity of a physician or health practitioner;
               (3)  disclosing provider discounts or differentials
  between payments and billed charges;
               (4)  relating to actual payments to an identified
  provider made by a payer; or
               (5)  submitted to the department [council] in a uniform
  submission format that is not included in the public use data
  element list described by [set established under] Sections
  108.006(f) and (g), except in accordance with Subsections (k), (l),
  (m), and (n) and Section 108.0135.
         (d)  All data collected and used by the department [and the
  council] under this chapter is subject to the confidentiality
  provisions and criminal penalties of:
               (1)  Section 311.037;
               (2)  Section 81.103; and
               (3)  Section 159.002, Occupations Code.
         (e)  Data on patients and compilations produced from the data
  collected that identify patients are not:
               (1)  subject to discovery, subpoena, or other means of
  legal compulsion for release to any person or entity except as
  provided by this section; or
               (2)  admissible in any civil, administrative, or
  criminal proceeding.
         (f)  Data on physicians or health practitioners and
  compilations produced from the data collected that identify
  physicians or health practitioners are not:
               (1)  subject to discovery, subpoena, or other means of
  legal compulsion for release to any person or entity except as
  provided by this section; or
               (2)  admissible in any civil, administrative, or
  criminal proceeding.
         (g)  The department [council] may not release data elements
  in a manner that will reveal the identity of a patient. The
  department [council] may not release data elements in a manner that
  will reveal the identity of a physician or health practitioner.
         (h)  Subsections (c) and (g) do not prohibit the release of a
  uniform physician or health practitioner identifier in conjunction
  with associated public use data in accordance with Section 108.011
  or a provider quality report in accordance with Section 108.010.
         (i)  Notwithstanding any other law, the [council and the]
  department may not provide information made confidential by this
  section to any other agency of this state.
         (j)  The department [council] shall recommend a [by] rule to
  [, with the assistance of the advisory committee under Section
  108.003(g)(5),] develop and implement a mechanism to comply with
  Subsections (c)(1) and (2).
         (k)  The department may disclose data collected under this
  chapter that is not included in public use data to any program
  within the department upon review and approval by the institutional
  or other review board established under Section 108.0135.  This
  subsection does not authorize disclosure of physician and health
  care practitioner identifying data.
         (l)  The department shall implement safeguards to ensure
  that the department maintains the confidentiality of confidential
  data in the possession of the department. The department shall
  identify the confidential data to a program within the department
  receiving the data as described by Subsection (k). The program
  receiving the data must ensure that the confidential data remains
  confidential.
         (m)  Notwithstanding other law, the confidential data
  collected under this chapter that is disclosed to another program
  within the department under this section remains subject to the
  confidentiality provisions of this chapter.
         (n)  Subsections (c), (d), and (g) and Sections 108.010(g)
  and (h) and 108.011(e) and (f) do not apply to the disclosure of
  data to a department program with respect to which the department is
  given approval to disclose data under this section. This
  subsection does not authorize disclosure of physician and health
  care practitioner identifying data.
         SECTION 13.  Section 108.0135, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 108.0135.  INSTITUTIONAL [SCIENTIFIC] REVIEW BOARD
  [PANEL].  (a)  The department [council] shall establish a
  department institutional review board or similar privacy board
  [scientific review panel] to review and approve valid requests for
  access to data not contained in the [information other than] public
  use data element list established by rule, excluding the names and
  identification numbers of the patients, physicians, and health
  practitioners. The members of the board [panel] shall have
  experience and expertise in ethics, patient confidentiality, and
  health care data.
         (b)  For purposes of Subsection (a), an identification
  number is any unique identifier composed of numeric, alpha, or
  alphanumeric characters assigned by a person to the patient,
  physician, or health care practitioner, but does not include a
  uniform identifier assigned by the department under this chapter  
  [To assist the panel in determining whether to approve a request for
  information, the council shall adopt rules similar to the federal
  Health Care Financing Administration's guidelines on releasing
  data].
         [(c)     A request for information other than public use data
  must be made on the form created by the council.]
         SECTION 14.  Subsections (b), (c), and (d), Section 108.014,
  Health and Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (b)  A person who fails to supply available data under this
  chapter [Sections 108.009 and 108.010] is liable for a civil
  penalty of not less than $500 [$1,000 or more than $10,000] for each
  day after the date of the last day on which the entity may timely
  submit the data. In determining the amount of the civil penalty,
  the court shall consider:
               (1)  the person's previous violations;
               (2)  the seriousness [act] of the violation, including
  the nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of the violation;
               (3)  whether the health and safety of the public was
  threatened by the violation;
               (4)  the demonstrated good faith of the person; and
               (5)  the amount necessary to deter future violations.
         (c)  The attorney general, at the request of the department
  [council], shall enforce this chapter. The venue of an action
  brought under this section is in Travis County.
         (d)  A civil penalty recovered in a suit instituted by the
  attorney general under this chapter shall be deposited in the
  general revenue fund and may be appropriated to [the credit of] the
  department [health care information account].
         SECTION 15.  Chapter 108, Health and Safety Code, is amended
  by adding Sections 108.0142 and 108.0143 to read as follows:
         Sec. 108.0142.  INJUNCTION. (a)  The department may bring
  an action for an injunction or other process against a person who
  knowingly or negligently releases data in violation of this chapter
  or who fails to file data or reports required by this chapter.
         (b)  The district court may grant any prohibitory or
  mandatory relief warranted by the facts, including a temporary
  restraining order, temporary injunction, or permanent injunction.
         Sec. 108.0143.  REMEDIES CUMULATIVE. The civil penalty and
  injunction authorized by this chapter are in addition to any other
  civil, administrative, or criminal action provided by law.
         SECTION 16.  Subsection (b), Section 531.021, Government
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (b)  The commission shall:
               (1)  plan and direct the Medicaid program in each
  agency that operates a portion of the Medicaid program, including
  the management of the Medicaid managed care system and the
  development, procurement, management, and monitoring of contracts
  necessary to implement the Medicaid managed care system;
               (2)  adopt reasonable rules and standards governing the
  determination of fees, charges, and rates for medical assistance
  payments under Chapter 32, Human Resources Code, in consultation
  with the agencies that operate the Medicaid program; and
               (3)  establish requirements for and define the scope of
  the ongoing evaluation of the Medicaid managed care system
  conducted in conjunction with the Texas Health Care Information
  Collection Program [Council] under Chapter 108 [Section 108.0065],
  Health and Safety Code.
         SECTION 17.  Section 2054.0541, Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 2054.0541.  STATEWIDE HEALTH CARE DATA COLLECTION
  SYSTEM.  The department shall assist the [Texas Health Care
  Information Council and the Texas] Department of State Health
  Services with planning, analyses, and management functions
  relating to the procurement, use, and implementation of a statewide
  health care data collection system under Chapter 108, Health and
  Safety Code.
         SECTION 18.  Subsection (b), Section 501.253, Insurance
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (b)  The department and the Department of State Health
  Services [Texas Health Care Information Council] shall provide any
  information or data as requested by the office in furtherance of the
  duties under this subchapter.
         SECTION 19.  The following provisions of the Health and
  Safety Code are repealed:
               (1)  Subdivision (2), Section 108.002;
               (2)  Section 108.003;
               (3)  Section 108.004;
               (4)  Section 108.0045;
               (5)  Section 108.005;
               (6)  Section 108.0062;
               (7)  Section 108.0065;
               (8)  Section 108.008;
               (9)  Section 108.0081;
               (10)  Section 108.0085; and
               (11)  Section 108.015.
         SECTION 20.  A reference in law to the Texas Health Care
  Information Council means the Texas Health Care Information
  Collection Program.
         SECTION 21.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.
 
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