| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to the adoption by health care facilities of a policy on |
|
|
vaccine preventable diseases; imposing penalties. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. The heading to Subtitle A, Title 4, Health and |
|
|
Safety Code, is amended to read as follows: |
|
|
SUBTITLE A. FINANCING, CONSTRUCTING, REGULATING, AND INSPECTING |
|
|
HEALTH FACILITIES |
|
|
SECTION 2. Subtitle A, Title 4, Health and Safety Code, is |
|
|
amended by adding Chapter 224 to read as follows: |
|
|
CHAPTER 224. POLICY ON VACCINE PREVENTABLE DISEASES |
|
|
Sec. 224.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: |
|
|
(1) "Covered individual" means: |
|
|
(A) an employee of the health care facility; |
|
|
(B) an individual providing direct patient care |
|
|
under a contract with a health care facility; or |
|
|
(C) an individual to whom a health care facility |
|
|
has granted privileges to provide direct patient care. |
|
|
(2) "Health care facility" means: |
|
|
(A) a facility licensed under Subtitle B, |
|
|
including a hospital as defined by Section 241.003; or |
|
|
(B) a hospital maintained or operated by this |
|
|
state. |
|
|
(3) "Regulatory authority" means a state agency that |
|
|
regulates a health care facility under this code. |
|
|
(4) "Vaccine preventable diseases" means the diseases |
|
|
included in the most current recommendations of the Advisory |
|
|
Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease |
|
|
Control and Prevention. |
|
|
Sec. 224.002. VACCINE PREVENTABLE DISEASES POLICY |
|
|
REQUIRED. (a) Each health care facility shall develop and |
|
|
implement a policy to protect its patients from vaccine preventable |
|
|
diseases. |
|
|
(b) The policy must: |
|
|
(1) require covered individuals to receive vaccines |
|
|
for the vaccine preventable diseases specified by the facility |
|
|
based on the level of risk the individual presents to patients by |
|
|
the individual's routine and direct exposure to patients; |
|
|
(2) specify the vaccines a covered individual is |
|
|
required to receive based on the level of risk the individual |
|
|
presents to patients by the individual's routine and direct |
|
|
exposure to patients; |
|
|
(3) include procedures for verifying whether a covered |
|
|
individual has complied with the policy; |
|
|
(4) include procedures for a covered individual to be |
|
|
exempt from the required vaccines for the medical conditions |
|
|
identified as contraindications or precautions by the Centers for |
|
|
Disease Control and Prevention; |
|
|
(5) for a covered individual who is exempt from the |
|
|
required vaccines, include procedures the individual must follow to |
|
|
protect facility patients from exposure to disease, such as the use |
|
|
of protective medical equipment, such as gloves and masks, based on |
|
|
the level of risk the individual presents to patients by the |
|
|
individual's routine and direct exposure to patients; |
|
|
(6) prohibit discrimination or retaliatory action |
|
|
against a covered individual who is exempt from the required |
|
|
vaccines for the medical conditions identified as |
|
|
contraindications or precautions by the Centers for Disease Control |
|
|
and Prevention, except that required use of protective medical |
|
|
equipment, such as gloves and masks, may not be considered |
|
|
retaliatory action for purposes of this subdivision; |
|
|
(7) require the health care facility to maintain a |
|
|
written or electronic record of each covered individual's |
|
|
compliance with or exemption from the policy; and |
|
|
(8) include disciplinary actions the health care |
|
|
facility is authorized to take against a covered individual who |
|
|
fails to comply with the policy. |
|
|
(c) The policy may include procedures for a covered |
|
|
individual to be exempt from the required vaccines based on reasons |
|
|
of conscience, including a religious belief. |
|
|
Sec. 224.003. DISASTER EXEMPTION. (a) In this section, |
|
|
"public health disaster" has the meaning assigned by Section |
|
|
81.003. |
|
|
(b) During a public health disaster, a health care facility |
|
|
may prohibit a covered individual who is exempt from the vaccines |
|
|
required in the policy developed by the facility under Section |
|
|
224.002 from having contact with facility patients. |
|
|
Sec. 224.004. DISCIPLINARY ACTION. A health care facility |
|
|
that violates this chapter is subject to an administrative or civil |
|
|
penalty in the same manner, and subject to the same procedures, as |
|
|
if the facility had violated a provision of this code that |
|
|
specifically governs the facility. |
|
|
Sec. 224.005. RULES. The appropriate rulemaking authority |
|
|
for each regulatory authority shall adopt rules necessary to |
|
|
implement this chapter. |
|
|
SECTION 3. Not later than June 1, 2012, a state agency that |
|
|
regulates a health care facility subject to Chapter 224, Health and |
|
|
Safety Code, as added by this Act, shall adopt the rules necessary |
|
|
to implement that chapter. |
|
|
SECTION 4. Notwithstanding Chapter 224, Health and Safety |
|
|
Code, as added by this Act, a health care facility subject to that |
|
|
chapter is not required to have a policy on vaccine preventable |
|
|
diseases in effect until September 1, 2012. |
|
|
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011. |