By: Darby, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Alvarado) H.B. No. 2792
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 26, 2021;
May 6, 2021, read first time and referred to Committee on Health &
Human Services; May 20, 2021, reported favorably by the following
vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 20, 2021, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a pilot project to provide emergency telemedicine
medical services and telehealth services in rural areas.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 771, Health and Safety Code, is amended
by adding Subchapter F to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER F. NEXT GENERATION 9-1-1 TELEMEDICINE MEDICAL SERVICES
AND TELEHEALTH SERVICES PILOT PROJECT
Sec. 771.151. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Center" means the area health education center at
the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center that meets the
requirements of 42 U.S.C. Section 294a and has been awarded federal
funding as an area health education center.
(2) "Emergency medical services" means services used
to respond to an individual's perceived need for immediate medical
care and to prevent death or aggravation of physiological or
psychological illness or injury.
(3) "Emergency medical services provider" means a
person who uses or maintains emergency medical services vehicles,
medical equipment, and emergency medical services personnel to
provide emergency medical services.
(4) "Emergency prehospital care" means care provided
to a sick or injured individual before or during transportation of
the individual to a medical facility, and includes any necessary
stabilization of the individual in connection with that
transportation.
(5) "Pilot project" means a pilot project established
under Section 771.152.
(6) "Regional trauma resource center" means a trauma
facility the center selects to participate in the pilot project.
(7) "Rural area" means:
(A) a county with a population of 50,000 or less;
or
(B) a large, isolated, and sparsely populated
area of a county with a population of more than 50,000.
(8) "Telehealth service" and "telemedicine medical
service" have the meanings assigned by Section 111.001, Occupations
Code.
(9) "Trauma facility" means a health care facility
equipped and staffed to provide comprehensive treatment of
seriously injured individuals as part of an emergency medical
services and trauma care system.
Sec. 771.152. ESTABLISHMENT OF PILOT PROJECT. (a) The
commission, with the assistance of the center, shall establish a
pilot project to provide emergency medical services instruction and
emergency prehospital care instruction through a telemedicine
medical service or telehealth service provided by regional trauma
resource centers to:
(1) health care providers in rural area trauma
facilities; and
(2) emergency medical services providers in rural
areas.
(b) The commission shall provide technical assistance to
the center in implementing the pilot project.
(c) The center, with the assistance of the commission,
shall:
(1) design criteria and protocols for each
telemedicine medical service or telehealth service offered and the
related instruction and provide the oversight necessary to conduct
the pilot project;
(2) define criteria to determine when a telemedicine
medical service or telehealth service that provides instruction for
emergency medical services, emergency prehospital care, and trauma
care should be transferred to an emergency medical resource center
for intervention; and
(3) collect the data necessary to evaluate the
project.
(d) The center may make available appropriate resources for
individuals who do not speak English.
Sec. 771.153. PERSONNEL. The center shall provide the
telemedicine medical service or telehealth service and related
instruction for the pilot project through health care providers in
regional trauma resource centers, including physicians,
pharmacists, emergency medical personnel, and other health
professionals.
Sec. 771.154. PARTICIPATION IN PILOT PROJECT. (a) The
center shall determine the trauma facilities and emergency medical
services providers interested in participating in the pilot
project.
(b) A trauma facility or emergency medical services
provider participating in the pilot project must agree to
successfully complete any required training and to provide all
reports required by the center for the project.
Sec. 771.155. SELECTION OF PROJECT PARTICIPANTS AND
REGIONAL TRAUMA RESOURCE CENTERS. (a) The center, with the
assistance of the commission, may select trauma facilities and
emergency medical services providers to participate in the pilot
project and select trauma facilities to serve as regional trauma
resource centers.
(b) The center may not select a trauma facility to
participate in the pilot project or to serve as a regional trauma
resource center unless the facility:
(1) has a quality assurance program that measures each
health care provider's compliance with the medical protocol;
(2) uses emergency medical services and emergency
prehospital care protocols approved by a physician medical director
knowledgeable in emergency medical services and emergency
prehospital care;
(3) has experience in providing emergency medical
services and emergency prehospital care that the center determines
is sufficient; and
(4) has resources sufficient to provide the additional
telemedicine medical services or telehealth services and related
instruction required for the project in addition to the health care
services already provided by the facility.
(c) In selecting a trauma facility to serve as a regional
trauma resource center, the center shall consider the facility
personnel's ability to maintain records and produce reports to
measure the effectiveness of the pilot project. The center shall
share information regarding that ability with the commission.
Sec. 771.156. FUNDING OF PILOT PROJECT. (a) Money
collected under Section 771.072(f) may be appropriated to the
commission to fund the pilot project.
(b) The center may seek grants to fund the pilot project.
(c) A political subdivision with a trauma facility that
participates in the pilot project may pay part of the costs of the
project.
(d) If a sufficient number of political subdivisions in a
region that may be served by the pilot project agree to pay the
center an amount that together with other funding received under
this section is sufficient to fund the project for the region, the
center shall:
(1) contract with the political subdivisions for each
to pay an appropriate share of the cost; and
(2) implement the project for the region when the
amounts agreed to in the contracts and any other funding received
under this section are sufficient to fund the project for the
region.
Sec. 771.157. REPORT TO LEGISLATURE. The center, in
cooperation with the commission, shall report its findings to the
governor and the presiding officer of each house of the
legislature, not later than December 31, 2026.
Sec. 771.158. LIABILITY. The operations of the center and a
regional trauma resource center are considered to be the provision
of 9-1-1 services for purposes of Section 771.053. Employees of and
volunteers at the regional trauma resource center have the same
protection from liability as a member of the governing body of a
public agency under Section 771.053.
Sec. 771.159. WORK GROUP. (a) The center may appoint a
project work group to assist the center in developing,
implementing, and evaluating the pilot project and preparing a
report on the center's findings.
(b) A member of the work group is not entitled to
compensation for serving on the project work group and may not be
reimbursed for travel or other expenses incurred while conducting
the business of the project work group.
(c) The project work group is not subject to Chapter 2110,
Government Code.
Sec. 771.160. EXPIRATION. This subchapter expires
September 1, 2027.
SECTION 2. Section 771.072(g), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(g) Notwithstanding any other law, revenue derived from the
equalization surcharge imposed under this section may be
appropriated to the commission only for the purposes described by
Section 771.156 and Sections 773.122 through 773.124.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
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