By: Coleman (Senate Sponsor - Gallegos) H.B. No. 1568
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 18, 2011;
April 26, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on
Intergovernmental Relations; May 20, 2011, reported adversely,
with favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 5,
Nays 0; May 20, 2011, sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 1568 By: Gallegos
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the authority of certain local governmental entities in
certain populous counties to appoint, contract for, or employ
physicians.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 281, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 281.0283 to read as follows:
Sec. 281.0283. HARRIS COUNTY HOSPITAL DISTRICT; EMPLOYMENT
OF PHYSICIANS. (a) The board of the Harris County Hospital
District may appoint, contract for, or employ physicians as the
board considers necessary for the efficient operation of the
district.
(b) The term of an employment contract entered into under
this section may not exceed four years.
(c) This section may not be construed as authorizing the
board of the Harris County Hospital District to supervise or
control the practice of medicine, as prohibited by Subtitle B,
Title 3, Occupations Code.
(d) The authority granted to the board of the Harris County
Hospital District under Subsection (a) to employ physicians shall
apply as necessary for the district to fulfill the district's
statutory mandate to provide medical care for the indigent and
needy residents of the district as provided by Section 281.046.
(e) The medical executive board of the Harris County
Hospital District shall adopt, maintain, and enforce policies to
ensure that a physician employed by the district exercises the
physician's independent medical judgment in providing care to
patients.
(f) The policies adopted by the medical executive board
under this section must include:
(1) policies relating to:
(A) governance of the medical executive board;
(B) credentialing;
(C) quality assurance;
(D) utilization review;
(E) peer review;
(F) medical decision-making; and
(G) due process; and
(2) rules requiring the disclosure of financial
conflicts of interest by a member of the medical executive board.
(g) The medical executive board and the board of the Harris
County Hospital District shall jointly develop and implement a
conflict management process to resolve any conflict between a
policy adopted by the medical executive board under this section
and a policy of the Harris County Hospital District.
(h) A member of the medical executive board who is a
physician shall provide biennially to the chair of the medical
executive board a signed, verified statement indicating that the
board member:
(1) is licensed by the Texas Medical Board;
(2) will exercise independent medical judgment in all
medical executive board matters, including matters relating to:
(A) credentialing;
(B) quality assurance;
(C) utilization review;
(D) peer review;
(E) medical decision-making; and
(F) due process;
(3) will exercise the board member's best efforts to
ensure compliance with the policies that are adopted or established
by the medical executive board; and
(4) will report immediately to the Texas Medical Board
any action or event that the board member reasonably and in good
faith believes constitutes a compromise of the independent medical
judgment of a physician in caring for a patient.
(i) For all matters relating to the practice of medicine,
each physician employed by the Harris County Hospital District
shall ultimately report to the chair of the medical executive board
for the district.
SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 351, Local Government
Code, is amended by adding Section 351.045 to read as follows:
Sec. 351.045. HEALTH CARE SERVICES IN CERTAIN COUNTIES;
EMPLOYMENT OF PHYSICIANS. (a) The commissioners court of a county
with a population of 3.3 million or more may appoint, contract for,
or employ physicians to provide health care services to inmates in
the custody of the sheriff.
(b) This section may not be construed as authorizing the
commissioners court to supervise or control the practice of
medicine, as prohibited by Subtitle B, Title 3, Occupations Code.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
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