HBA-NRS C.S.H.B. 2408 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 2408 By: Maxey Public Health 4/23/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE One of the purposes of licensing health professionals is to document and consider consumer complaints ranging from a health professional's rude behavior to serious ethical violations. There are several different health professional licensing agencies in Texas and each agency manages the complex complaint process in a different manner. For instance, some agencies document more complaints than others and complaint severity classifications differ among agencies, which may cause confusion for health care consumers. C.S.H.B. 2408 requires the Health Professions Council to study the complaint procedures of specific state health care entities and to develop a report with recommendations for a standard procedure for the handling of such complaints. 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. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 2408 requires the Health Professions Council to study the complaint procedures for certain health care professional licensing agencies, including the process by which the complaint information is compiled and handled, the process by which complaints are adjudicated and resolved, and the extent to which complaint information is made available to the public. The bill requires the Health Professions Council to deliver to the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house of representatives, not later than January 1, 2003, a report on the study. The report must include any recommendations for a standard procedure for the handling of complaints and a method that provides the most complete public access to complaint information. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 2408 modifies the original bill to include the Texas State Board of Podiatric Medical Examiners in the list of entities the Health Professions Council will study in regard to the complaint procedures.