Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB466 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R1203 YDB-D
2	2	By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 466
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to excluding a child from the immunization registry.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Sections 161.007(a), (b), (b-1), (c), (d), (f),
10	10	and (k), Health and Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
11	11	(a) The department, for the primary purpose of establishing
12	12	and maintaining a single repository of accurate, complete, and
13	13	current immunization records to be used in aiding, coordinating,
14	14	and promoting efficient and cost-effective childhood communicable
15	15	disease prevention and control efforts, shall establish and
16	16	maintain an immunization registry. The executive commissioner of
17	17	the Health and Human Services Commission [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	(3) permit [require the written consent of] a parent,
24	24	managing conservator, or guardian of a patient younger than 18
25	25	years of age to have the patient excluded from [before any
26	26	information relating to the patient is included in] the registry[;
27	27	[(4) permit a parent, managing conservator, or
28	28	guardian of a patient younger than 18 years of age to withdraw
29	29	consent for the patient to be included in the registry; and
30	30	[(5) determine the process by which consent is
31	31	verified, including affirmation by a health care provider, birth
32	32	registrar, regional health information exchange, or local
33	33	immunization registry that consent has been obtained].
34	34	(b) The immunization registry must contain information on
35	35	the immunization history that is obtained by the department under:
36	36	(1) this section of each person who is younger than 18
37	37	years of age [and for whom consent has been obtained in accordance
38	38	with guidelines adopted under Subsection (a)];
39	39	(2) Section 161.00705 of persons immunized to prepare
40	40	for or in response to a declared disaster, public health emergency,
41	41	terrorist attack, hostile military or paramilitary action, or
42	42	extraordinary law enforcement emergency; and
43	43	(3) Section 161.00706 of first responders or their
44	44	immediate family members.
45	45	(b-1) [The department shall remove from the registry
46	46	information for any person for whom consent has been
47	47	withdrawn.] The department may not retain individually
48	48	identifiable information about any person:
49	49	(1) for whom a request to be excluded from the registry
50	50	has been received under this section [consent has been withdrawn];
51	51	(2) for whom a consent for continued inclusion in the
52	52	registry following the end of the declared disaster, public health
53	53	emergency, terrorist attack, hostile military or paramilitary
54	54	action, or extraordinary law enforcement emergency has not been
55	55	received under Section 161.00705(f); or
56	56	(3) for whom a request to be removed from the registry
57	57	has been received under Section 161.00706(e).
58	58	(c) A payor that receives data elements from a health care
59	59	provider who administers an immunization to a person younger than
60	60	18 years of age shall provide the data elements to the department.
61	61	A payor is required to provide the department with only the data
62	62	elements the payor receives from a health care provider. The data
63	63	elements shall be submitted in a format prescribed by the
64	64	department. [The department shall verify consent before including
65	65	the reported information in the immunization registry.] The
66	66	department may not retain individually identifiable information
67	67	about a person for whom the department receives a request to be
68	68	excluded from the registry [consent cannot be verified].
69	69	(d) A health care provider who administers an immunization
70	70	to a person younger than 18 years of age shall provide data elements
71	71	regarding an immunization to the department. The data elements
72	72	shall be submitted in a format prescribed by the department. [The
73	73	department shall verify consent before including the information in
74	74	the immunization registry.] The department may not retain
75	75	individually identifiable information about a person for whom the
76	76	department receives a request to be excluded from the registry
77	77	[consent cannot be verified].
78	78	(f) The department and health care providers may use the
79	79	registry to provide notices by mail, telephone, personal contact,
80	80	or other means to a parent, managing conservator, or guardian
81	81	regarding the person's [his or her] child or ward who is due or
82	82	overdue for a particular type of immunization according to the
83	83	department's immunization schedule. The notice must contain
84	84	instructions for the parent, managing conservator, or guardian to
85	85	request that future notices not be sent and to remove the child's
86	86	immunization record from the registry and any registry-related
87	87	records. The notice must describe the procedure to report a
88	88	violation if a child's immunization record is included in the
89	89	registry after requesting exclusion. The department shall consult
90	90	with health care providers to determine the most efficient and
91	91	cost-effective manner of using the registry to provide those
92	92	notices.
93	93	(k) The executive commissioner of the Health and Human
94	94	Services Commission [board] shall adopt rules to administer this
95	95	section.
96	96	SECTION 2. Sections 161.0071(a) and (b), Health and Safety
97	97	Code, are amended to read as follows:
98	98	(a) The first time the department receives registry data for
99	99	a child [for whom the department has received consent to be included
100	100	in the registry,] from a person other than the child's parent,
101	101	managing conservator, or guardian, the department shall send a
102	102	written notice to the child's parent, managing conservator, or
103	103	guardian disclosing:
104	104	(1) that providers and payors may be sending the
105	105	child's immunization information to the department, but the
106	106	department may not keep the information if the parent, managing
107	107	conservator, or guardian chooses to exclude the child from the
108	108	registry;
109	109	(2) the information that is included in the registry;
110	110	(3) the persons to whom the information may be
111	111	released under Section 161.008(d);
112	112	(4) the purpose and use of the registry;
113	113	(5) the procedure to exclude a child from the
114	114	registry; and
115	115	(6) the procedure to report a violation if a parent,
116	116	managing conservator, or guardian discovers a child is included in
117	117	the registry after exclusion has been requested.
118	118	(b) On receipt of a written request to exclude a child's
119	119	immunization records from [discovering that consent to be included
120	120	in] the registry [has not been granted], the department shall
121	121	exclude the child's immunization records from the registry and any
122	122	other registry-related department record that individually
123	123	identifies the child.
124	124	SECTION 3. Sections 161.008(c) and (h), Health and Safety
125	125	Code, are amended to read as follows:
126	126	(c) The department may obtain the data constituting an
127	127	immunization record for a child from a public health district, a
128	128	local health department, the child's parent, managing conservator,
129	129	or guardian, a physician to the child, a payor, or any health care
130	130	provider licensed or otherwise authorized to administer vaccines.
131	131	[The department shall verify consent before including the reported
132	132	information in the immunization registry.] The department may not
133	133	retain individually identifiable information about a person for
134	134	whom the department receives a request to be excluded from the
135	135	registry [consent cannot be verified].
136	136	(h) The executive commissioner of the Health and Human
137	137	Services Commission [board] shall adopt rules to implement this
138	138	section.
139	139	SECTION 4. Section 161.0107(c), Health and Safety Code, as
140	140	added by Chapter 352 (S.B. 204), Acts of the 80th Legislature,
141	141	Regular Session, 2007, is amended to read as follows:
142	142	(c) The executive commissioner of the Health and Human
143	143	Services Commission by rule shall specify:
144	144	(1) the fields necessary to populate the immunization
145	145	registry[, including a field that indicates the patient's consent
146	146	to be listed in the immunization registry has been obtained]; and
147	147	(2) the data standards that must be used for
148	148	electronic submission of immunization information.
149	149	SECTION 5. Sections 161.007(a-1) and (e), Health and Safety
150	150	Code, are repealed.
151	151	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.