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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the authority of advanced practice registered nurses to |
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pronounce death and sign death certificates. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 671.001(d), Health and Safety Code, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(d) A registered nurse, including an advanced practice |
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registered nurse, or physician assistant may determine and |
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pronounce a person dead in situations other than those described by |
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Subsection (b) if permitted by written policies of a licensed |
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health care facility, institution, or entity providing services to |
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that person. Those policies must include physician assistants who |
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are credentialed or otherwise permitted to practice at the |
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facility, institution, or entity. If the facility, institution, or |
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entity has an organized nursing staff and an organized medical |
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staff or medical consultant, the nursing staff and medical staff or |
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consultant shall jointly develop and approve those policies. The |
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board shall adopt rules to govern policies for facilities, |
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institutions, or entities that do not have organized nursing staffs |
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and organized medical staffs or medical consultants. |
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SECTION 2. Section 671.002(a), Health and Safety Code, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(a) A physician who determines death in accordance with |
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Section 671.001(b) or a registered nurse, including an advanced |
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practice registered nurse, or physician assistant who determines |
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death in accordance with Section 671.001(d) is not liable for civil |
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damages or subject to criminal prosecution for the physician's, |
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registered nurse's, or physician assistant's actions or the actions |
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of others based on the determination of death. |
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SECTION 3. Sections 193.005(a), (b), and (c), Health and |
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Safety Code, are amended to read as follows: |
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(a) A person required to file a death certificate or fetal |
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death certificate shall obtain the required medical certification |
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from an attending physician or advanced practice registered nurse |
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if the death occurred under medical attendance for the care and |
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treatment of the condition or disease process that contributed to |
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the death. |
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(b) The attending physician or advanced practice registered |
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nurse shall complete the medical certification not later than five |
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days after receiving the death certificate. |
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(c) An associate physician, the chief medical officer of the |
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institution where the death occurred, an advanced practice |
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registered nurse, or the physician who performed an autopsy on the |
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decedent may complete the medical certification if: |
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(1) the attending physician or advanced practice |
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registered nurse is unavailable; |
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(2) the attending physician or advanced practice |
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registered nurse approves; and |
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(3) the person completing the medical certification |
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has access to the medical history of the case and the death is due to |
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natural causes. |
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SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |