81R9335 YDB-F
By: West S.B. No. 1706
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment of a program to provide prescribers
with evidence-based information about pharmaceuticals; assessing a
fee; providing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the legislature to ensure
that health care professionals have balanced and unbiased
evidence-based information readily available in order to ensure the
highest quality prescribing decisions are made for the citizens of
this state, which will improve health outcomes and reduce
unnecessary costs.
SECTION 2. Chapter 531, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter Q to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER Q. EVIDENCE-BASED PRESCRIBER EDUCATION SERVICE
Sec. 531.651. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Prescribed product" includes a drug or device as
defined in Section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
(21 U.S.C. Section 321) and a biological product as defined in
Section 351 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. Section
262).
(2) "State health care program" means a program for
which the state purchases prescribed products, including the state
Medicaid program, a state pharmaceutical assistance program, or a
program for state employees and their dependents, individuals under
the supervision of corrections, or state retirees and their
dependents.
Sec. 531.652. ESTABLISHMENT OF EDUCATION SERVICE. (a) The
executive commissioner, in collaboration with an institution of
higher education in this state, shall develop an evidence-based
prescription education service designed to provide health care
professionals who are licensed to prescribe or dispense prescribed
products with information and education from a noncommercial source
on the comparative efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness of
commonly used prescribed products.
(b) In designing the service, the executive commissioner
shall consult with appropriate health care professionals or
organizations knowledgeable about the practice of medicine and
continuing medical education.
(c) The education service shall be geared toward assisting
health care professionals who are licensed to prescribe or dispense
prescribed products with making appropriate pharmaceutical
recommendations.
Sec. 531.653. REQUIREMENTS FOR EDUCATION SERVICE. (a) The
education service established by the executive commissioner under
Section 531.652 shall conduct in-person outreach and education
sessions that are:
(1) made available to health care professionals who
participate in, contract with, or are reimbursed by state-funded
health care programs;
(2) made available to health care professionals in
their place of work;
(3) facilitated by qualified and appropriately
trained clinician-educators; and
(4) conducted on a one-to-one basis, whenever
practicable.
(b) The service may also provide education to other health
care professionals as funding permits or for a fee.
(c) The educational materials used by the education service
must be based on a balanced, clinically relevant, and comprehensive
review of evidence that is accepted within the practice of
medicine, including scientific research that conforms to the
generally accepted standards of experimental design, data
collection, analysis, and interpretation with the purpose of
providing unbiased and objective continuing education on the
comparative efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness of
medications.
(d) The education service may use materials developed by a
medical school, an academic medical center, a school of pharmacy, a
medical society, a research institute, or another publicly
sponsored prescriber education service.
Sec. 531.654. RULES OF EDUCATION SERVICE. (a) The
executive commissioner shall adopt the rules necessary to implement
this subchapter.
(b) The rules adopted under this subchapter must establish:
(1) minimum clinical and educational qualifications
for prescriber educators employed by or under contract with the
education service;
(2) required training for educators;
(3) a code of conduct governing the behavior of
educators in their interactions with health care professionals; and
(4) conflict of interest guidelines for educators and
others involved in advising, developing, and administering the
service.
Sec. 531.655. FEE. (a) Each wholesale distributor of
prescription drugs that is licensed under Subchapter N, Chapter
431, Health and Safety Code, that employs, directs, or utilizes one
or more prescription marketing representatives in this state to
market the distributor's prescription drugs shall pay to the
commission an annual fee in the amount of $2,500.
(b) The fee collected by the commission under this section
shall be deposited to the credit of the general revenue fund and may
be appropriated only for the education service established under
this subchapter.
(c) A wholesale distributor that fails to pay the fee
required by this section is subject to disciplinary action by the
Department of State Health Services under Section 431.414, Health
and Safety Code, as if the distributor violated Subchapter N,
Chapter 431, Health and Safety Code.
Sec. 531.656. COMMISSION DUTIES. The commission shall seek
and take all necessary actions to receive federal financial
participation for any academic detailing provided through the state
Medicaid program at the administrative matching rate of 50 percent.
Sec. 531.657. GIFTS AND GRANTS. The executive commissioner
may seek grants and financial gifts from nonprofit charitable
foundations to cover planning, development, and the ongoing
operation of the education service provided under this subchapter.
Sec. 531.658. REPORT. The executive commissioner shall
present an annual report on the development of the education
service to:
(1) the presiding officer of each house of the
legislature; and
(2) the chair of each committee in the legislature
with primary jurisdiction over the commission.
SECTION 3. (a) Not later than January 1, 2010, the
executive commissioner shall adopt the rules required by Subchapter
Q, Chapter 531, Government Code, as added by this Act.
(b) Not later than September 1, 2010, the executive
commissioner, in collaboration with an institution of higher
education in this state, shall establish the education service as
required by Subchapter Q, Chapter 531, Government Code, as added by
this Act.
(c) Notwithstanding Subchapter Q, Chapter 531, Government
Code, as added by this Act, a wholesale distributor is not required
to pay the fee required under Subchapter Q until January 1, 2010.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.