Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB1879 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R3373 JSC-D
2	2	By: Davis of Harris H.B. No. 1879
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the receipt and release of immunization information by
8	8	the immunization registry in connection with a disaster.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Sections 161.007(a), (b), (b-1), and (j), Health
11	11	and Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
12	12	(a) The department, for the primary purpose of establishing
13	13	and maintaining a single repository of accurate, complete, and
14	14	current immunization records to be used in aiding, coordinating,
15	15	and promoting efficient and cost-effective childhood communicable
16	16	disease prevention and control efforts, shall establish and
17	17	maintain an immunization registry. The department by rule shall
18	18	develop guidelines to:
19	19	(1) protect the confidentiality of patients in
20	20	accordance with Section 159.002, Occupations Code;
21	21	(2) inform a parent, managing conservator, or guardian
22	22	of each patient younger than 18 years of age about the registry and
23	23	that registry information may be released under Section 161.00735;
24	24	(3) require the written consent of a parent, managing
25	25	conservator, or guardian of a patient younger than 18 years of age
26	26	before any information relating to the patient is included in the
27	27	registry;
28	28	(4) permit a parent, managing conservator, or guardian
29	29	of a patient younger than 18 years of age to withdraw consent for
30	30	the patient to be included in the registry; and
31	31	(5) determine the process by which consent is
32	32	verified, including affirmation by a health care provider, birth
33	33	registrar, regional health information exchange, or local
34	34	immunization registry that consent has been obtained.
35	35	(b) The immunization registry must contain information on
36	36	the immunization history that is obtained by the department under:
37	37	(1) this section of each person who is younger than 18
38	38	years of age and for whom consent has been obtained in accordance
39	39	with guidelines adopted under Subsection (a);
40	40	(2) Section 161.00705 of persons immunized to prepare
41	41	for or in response to a declared disaster, public health emergency,
42	42	terrorist attack, hostile military or paramilitary action, or
43	43	extraordinary law enforcement emergency; [and]
44	44	(3) Section 161.00706 of first responders or their
45	45	immediate family members; and
46	46	(4) Section 161.00735 of persons evacuated or
47	47	relocated to this state because of a disaster.
48	48	(b-1) The department shall remove from the registry
49	49	information for any person for whom consent has been
50	50	withdrawn. The department may not retain individually
51	51	identifiable information about any person:
52	52	(1) for whom consent has been withdrawn;
53	53	(2) for whom a consent for continued inclusion in the
54	54	registry following the end of the declared disaster, public health
55	55	emergency, terrorist attack, hostile military or paramilitary
56	56	action, or extraordinary law enforcement emergency has not been
57	57	received under Section 161.00705(f); [or]
58	58	(3) for whom a request to be removed from the registry
59	59	has been received under Section 161.00706(e);
60	60	(4) for whom consent for continued inclusion in the
61	61	registry following the end of a disaster has not been received under
62	62	Section 161.00735(f); or
63	63	(5) for whom a request to remove information from the
64	64	registry has been received under Section 161.00735(g).
65	65	(j) Except as provided by Sections 161.00705, 161.00706,
66	66	161.00735(b), and 161.008, information obtained by the department
67	67	for the immunization registry is confidential and may be disclosed
68	68	only with the written consent of the individual or, if a child, the
69	69	child's parent, managing conservator, or guardian.
70	70	SECTION 2. Sections 161.00706(c) and (d), Health and Safety
71	71	Code, are amended to read as follows:
72	72	(c) The executive commissioner of the Health and Human
73	73	Services Commission shall:
74	74	(1) develop rules to ensure that immunization history
75	75	submitted under Subsection (a)(2) is medically verified
76	76	immunization information;
77	77	(2) develop guidelines for use by the department in
78	78	informing first responders about the registry and that registry
79	79	information may be released under Section 161.00735; and
80	80	(3) adopt rules necessary for the implementation of
81	81	this section.
82	82	(d) Except as provided by Section 161.00735, a [A] person's
83	83	immunization history or data received by the department under this
84	84	section may be released only on consent of the person or to any
85	85	health care provider licensed or otherwise authorized to administer
86	86	vaccines.
87	87	SECTION 3. Section 161.0071(a), Health and Safety Code, is
88	88	amended to read as follows:
89	89	(a) The first time the department receives registry data for
90	90	a child for whom the department has received consent to be included
91	91	in the registry, from a person other than the child's parent,
92	92	managing conservator, or guardian, the department shall send a
93	93	written notice to the child's parent, managing conservator, or
94	94	guardian disclosing:
95	95	(1) that providers and payors may be sending the
96	96	child's immunization information to the department;
97	97	(2) the information that is included in the registry;
98	98	(3) the persons to whom the information may be
99	99	released under Sections 161.00735(b) and [Section] 161.008(d);
100	100	(4) the purpose and use of the registry;
101	101	(5) the procedure to exclude a child from the
102	102	registry; and
103	103	(6) the procedure to report a violation if a parent,
104	104	managing conservator, or guardian discovers a child is included in
105	105	the registry after exclusion has been requested.
106	106	SECTION 4. Section 161.0073(a), Health and Safety Code, is
107	107	amended to read as follows:
108	108	(a) Except as provided by Sections [Section] 161.00705 and
109	109	161.00735, information that individually identifies a child or
110	110	other individual that is received by the department for the
111	111	immunization registry is confidential and may be used by the
112	112	department for registry purposes only.
113	113	SECTION 5. Subchapter A, Chapter 161, Health and Safety
114	114	Code, is amended by adding Section 161.00735 to read as follows:
115	115	Sec. 161.00735. RELEASE AND RECEIPT OF REGISTRY DATA IN
116	116	DISASTER. (a) In this section, "disaster" has the meaning assigned
117	117	by Section 418.004, Government Code.
118	118	(b) If the department determines that residents of this
119	119	state have evacuated or relocated to another state in response to a
120	120	disaster, the department may release registry data, except registry
121	121	data obtained under Section 161.00705, to the appropriate health
122	122	authority of that state or to local health authorities in that
123	123	state.
124	124	(c) The department may receive immunization information
125	125	from a health authority of another state or from a local health
126	126	authority in another state if the department determines that
127	127	residents of that state have evacuated or relocated to this state in
128	128	response to a disaster. The department shall include information
129	129	received under this subsection in the registry. Notwithstanding
130	130	Section 161.007, the department is not required to obtain written
131	131	consent for the inclusion in the registry of information received
132	132	under this subsection.
133	133	(d) Immunization information received under Subsection (c)
134	134	is subject to Section 161.0073, and may not be released except as
135	135	authorized by this chapter.
136	136	(e) The executive commissioner of the Health and Human
137	137	Services Commission, by rule, shall determine the period during
138	138	which the information collected under Subsection (c) must remain in
139	139	the immunization registry following the end of the disaster.
140	140	(f) Unless an individual or, if a child, the child's parent,
141	141	managing conservator, or guardian consents in writing to continued
142	142	inclusion of the individual's or child's information in the
143	143	registry, the department shall remove the immunization records
144	144	collected under Subsection (c) from the registry on the expiration
145	145	of the period prescribed by Subsection (e).
146	146	(g) If an individual or, if a child, the child's parent,
147	147	managing conservator, or guardian requests in writing that the
148	148	individual's or child's information obtained under Subsection (c)
149	149	be removed from the registry, the department shall remove that
150	150	information from the registry.
151	151	SECTION 6. Section 161.009(a), Health and Safety Code, is
152	152	amended to read as follows:
153	153	(a) A person commits an offense if the person:
154	154	(1) negligently releases or discloses immunization
155	155	registry information in violation of Section 161.007, 161.0071,
156	156	161.0073, or 161.008;
157	157	(2) fails to exclude a child's immunization
158	158	information in violation of Section 161.0071;
159	159	(3) fails to remove a person's immunization
160	160	information in violation of Section 161.00705, [or] 161.00706, or
161	161	161.00735; or
162	162	(4) negligently uses information in the immunization
163	163	registry to solicit new patients or clients or for other purposes
164	164	that are not associated with immunization or quality-of-care
165	165	purposes, unless authorized under this section.
166	166	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.