HBA-JRA, MPA H.B. 110 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS
Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 110
By: Maxey
Public Health
7/15/1999
Enrolled
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Choosing a doctor to perform surgery, deliver a child, or perform any other
procedure can be one of life's most important decisions. The information
consumers need in order to make informed decisions about their doctor or
prospective doctor is not readily available. Information such as
education, hospital privileges, and nationally recognized specialty
certification, along with information on past criminal conduct and paid
malpractice claims, could be helpful to consumers in making informed
choices when selecting a physician.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill
expressly delegates additional rulemaking authority to the Texas State
Board of Medical Examiners in SECTION 2 (Section 5.12, Medical Practice
Act, Article 4495b,V.T.C.S.) of this bill.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Section 5.07(a), Medical Practice Act (Article
4495b,V.T.C.S.), to change the reporting requirement under this section to
any offense constituting a felony, a Class A or Class B misdemeanor, or a
class C misdemeanor involving moral turpitude.
SECTION 2. Amends Subchapter E, Article 4495b,V.T.C.S. (Medical Practice
Act), by adding Section 5.12, as follows:
Sec. 5.12. PHYSICIAN PROFILES. (a) Requires the Texas State Board of
Medical Examiners (board) to create a profile of each physician licensed
under the Medical Practice Act, and to compile them in a format which the
board can make available to the public.
(b) Provides that the profile must contain:
(1) the name and graduation date of each medical school attended by the
physician, or Fifth Pathway designation and the date of program completion;
(2) a description of all graduate medical education in the U.S. or Canada;
(3) any specialty certification issued by a member licensing board of the
American Board of Medical Specialties or the Bureau of Osteopathic
Specialists;
(4) number of years of active practice in the U.S. or Canada, and in this
state;
(5) the name of each hospital in this state in which the physician has
privileges;
(6) the location of the physician's primary practice;
(7) any language translation services, including any for a person with
impaired hearing, provided at the primary practice location;
(8) whether the physician participates in the Medicaid program;
(9) a description of any convictions of a felony, a Class A or Class B
misdemeanor, or a Class C misdemeanor involving moral turpitude during the
previous 10-year period;
(10) any charges reported to the board to which the physician pleaded no
contest or which a court has continued within the previous 10-year period;
(11) any disciplinary action taken by the board against the physician
within the previous 10-year period;
(12) any disciplinary action taken against the physician by the medical
licensing board of another state within the previous 10-year period;
(13) a description of the final resolution taken by the board on medical
malpractice claims or complaints required to be opened by the board under
Section 5.05(f) of this Act;
(14) whether the physician's patient service area is accessible to disabled
persons; and
(15) a description of any formal complaint against the physician initiated
and filed under Section 4.03 (Initiation of Charges), Article 4495b,
V.T.C.S., and the status of the complaint.
(c) Requires information necessary to complete this profile which is not
kept in the ordinary course of board operation be made available by the
physician when the physician renews the physician's license. Requires the
board to inform the physician: that it is mandatory to provide this
information; the date the information will be made available to the public;
and that upon request the physician will receive a copy of the profile, to
ensure its accuracy.
(d) Does not prevent the board from providing explanations of the
significance of categories in which malpractice settlements are reported,
or require the board to disclose confidential settlement information.
(e) Prohibits a pending malpractice claim or complaint from being disclosed
to the public by the board, unless the claim was already included in the
physician's profile in accordance with Subsection (b) of this section.
Provides that this subsection does not prevent the board from investigating
and disciplining a physician on the basis of such a claim.
(f) Requires the board to provide upon request at the time of renewal of
the physician's license a copy of the profile, and to give the physician
one month from the date the copy is provided to correct any factual errors.
(g) Requires the board to update physician profiles annually; to adopt a
form that allows a physician to update the profile or provide additional
information to be included in the profile; and that the form be available
on the Internet and in other formats prescribed by board rule. Authorizes
the board to adopt rules concerning the type and content of additional
information included in the physician profile.
(h) Requires the board to adopt rules as necessary to implement this
section.
SECTION 3. Requires that the following agencies provide cost estimates and
methodology for assembling similar profiles for persons regulated or
licensed by each agency to the presiding officer of each house of the 77th
Legislature no later than January 1, 2000: Texas Board of Chiropractic
Examiners; State Board of Dental Examiners; Texas Board of Occupational
Therapy Examiners; Texas Optometry Board; Texas State Board of Pharmacy;
Texas Board of Physical Therapy Examiners; Texas State Board of Podiatric
Medical Examiners; and Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists.
SECTION 4. (a) Effective date: September 1, 1999.
(b) Makes application of Section 1 of this Act prospective.
(c) Requires the board to adopt rules providing for physician profiles no
later than April 1, 2000, and to make the profiles available to the public
no later than September 1, 2001.
(d) Requires the board to raise fees for each physician licensed by the
board by not more than $20 for each fiscal year in the 2000-2001 biennium
and by not more than $10 for each fiscal year in the 2002-2003 biennium to
cover the costs of establishing the physician profile system. Requires
these fees to be reduced not later than the second anniversary of the date
the profiles are made available to the public to the extent the increase in
fees was necessary to cover the initial costs incurred by the board in
establishing a physician profile system.
SECTION 5. Emergency clause.