HBA-JRA H.B. 1653 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1653 By: Maxey Public Health 3/12/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Telemedicine is the practice of a professional health care provider providing interactive long distance services to a consumer in another location. This evolving technology is being used in the fields of medicine, dentistry, counseling, radiologic technologies, pharmacology, and occupational, physical, respiratory, and speech therapies. Telemedicine may hold promise for providing greater access to medical care, ensuring quality of care, and containing costs of medical care through early diagnosis and intervention in rural and underserved areas. H.B. 1653 requires the governor to appoint a task force to develop a telemedicine plan to increase access to medical care. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. (a) Requires the governor to appoint a task force to develop a statewide telemedicine plan to increase access to medical care. Sets forth the composition of the task force. (b) Provides that the telemedicine plan must provide guidelines for the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund Board for the award of grants for telemedicine projects; recommend a telecommunications infrastructure to build and support telemedicine; define the role medical schools, teaching hospitals, and public health clinics have in the telemedicine plan; establish priorities for the funding of telemedicine sites to serve rural and medically underserved areas; provide for the education of health professionals in community sites; make policy recommendations to ensure the quality of care and the stability of local health care systems; designate a group to coordinate statewide telemedicine initiatives; and make recommendations on interstate licensing issues related to the practice of medicine using telecommunications technology. (c) Requires the task force to report its recommendations to the statewide health coordinating council, the governor, and the legislature not later than January 31, 2000. SECTION 2. Emergency clause. Effective date: upon passage.