Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1770 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

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1	1	88R2261 JCG-F
2	2	By: Jetton H.B. No. 1770
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to nurse profiles and certain information concerning
8	8	nurses maintained on the Texas Board of Nursing's Internet website.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 301.1583, Occupations Code, is amended
11	11	to read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 301.1583. DISCIPLINARY ACTION. (a) The board may
13	13	[shall] remove a disciplinary action from a nurse's profile [the
14	14	nurse licensure verification page] on the board's Internet website
15	15	if:
16	16	(1) the disciplinary action is the only disciplinary
17	17	action taken against the nurse;
18	18	(2) the disciplinary action was taken by the board for
19	19	a violation that is not related to the practice of nursing;
20	20	(3) the disciplinary action did not result in the
21	21	suspension or revocation of, or the probation of the suspension or
22	22	revocation of, the nurse's license;
23	23	(4) the disciplinary action does not provide any
24	24	indication that continued practice by the nurse may risk harm to a
25	25	patient; [and]
26	26	(5) the nurse has successfully completed the
27	27	requirements imposed by the board in the disciplinary order related
28	28	to the disciplinary action; and
29	29	(6) at least five years have elapsed since the date the
30	30	disciplinary action was taken.
31	31	(b) A disciplinary action that is removed from a nurse's
32	32	profile [the nurse licensure verification page] on the board's
33	33	Internet website under Subsection (a) shall be removed from the
34	34	public portion of the coordinated licensure information system, as
35	35	defined by Section 304.0015 in Article II of the Nurse Licensure
36	36	Compact.
37	37	SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 301, Occupations Code, is
38	38	amended by adding Section 301.1584 to read as follows:
39	39	Sec. 301.1584. NURSE PROFILES. (a) The board shall create
40	40	a profile of each nurse licensed under this chapter. The profile
41	41	must:
42	42	(1) include the information required by Subsection
43	43	(b); and
44	44	(2) be compiled in a format that makes the information
45	45	contained in the profile easily available to the public.
46	46	(b) Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, a profile
47	47	must contain the following information on each nurse:
48	48	(1) the name of each board-approved school of nursing
49	49	or educational program attended and the dates of graduation;
50	50	(2) a description of all board-approved advanced
51	51	educational programs attended;
52	52	(3) any certification held by the nurse and recognized
53	53	by the board;
54	54	(4) the number of years the nurse has actively
55	55	practiced nursing in:
56	56	(A) this state; and
57	57	(B) another jurisdiction for which the board may
58	58	issue a license under Section 301.259 or 301.260;
59	59	(5) the name of each hospital or facility in this state
60	60	in which the nurse has privileges;
61	61	(6) the nurse's primary practice location;
62	62	(7) a description of any conviction for a felony, a
63	63	Class A or Class B misdemeanor, or a Class C misdemeanor involving
64	64	moral turpitude;
65	65	(8) a description of any charges reported to the board
66	66	to which the nurse has pleaded no contest, for which the nurse is
67	67	the subject of deferred adjudication or pretrial diversion, or in
68	68	which sufficient facts of guilt were found and the matter was
69	69	continued by a court;
70	70	(9) a description of any disciplinary action against
71	71	the nurse by the board;
72	72	(10) a description of any disciplinary action against
73	73	the nurse by a nursing licensing board of another state;
74	74	(11) a description of any formal charges against the
75	75	nurse initiated and filed under Section 301.458 and the status of
76	76	the charge;
77	77	(12) a description of any medical malpractice claim
78	78	against the nurse, not including a description of any offers by the
79	79	nurse or another party to settle the claim, for which the nurse was
80	80	found liable, a jury awarded monetary damages to the claimant, and
81	81	the award has been determined to be final and not subject to further
82	82	appeal; and
83	83	(13) for a nurse who prescribes or orders a drug or
84	84	device as delegated by a physician under Chapter 157 or other law,
85	85	the name and license number of the delegating physician.
86	86	(c) On or after the fifth anniversary of the date corrective
87	87	action is imposed under Subchapter N, the board may remove from the
88	88	profile of the nurse subject to the action any information
89	89	regarding the action and any complaint resolved by the action
90	90	unless:
91	91	(1) the complaint was related to the delivery of
92	92	health care; or
93	93	(2) more than one corrective action has been imposed
94	94	to resolve complaints alleging the same violation by the nurse,
95	95	including a complaint not related to the delivery of health care.
96	96	(d) Information required to be included under Subsection
97	97	(b) that is not maintained by the board in the ordinary course of
98	98	the board's duties shall be obtained from a nurse at the time the
99	99	nurse renews the nurse's license. In requesting information from
100	100	the nurse, the board shall:
101	101	(1) inform the nurse that compliance with the request
102	102	for information is mandatory;
103	103	(2) inform the nurse of the date the information will
104	104	be made available to the public; and
105	105	(3) instruct the nurse about the requirements under
106	106	Subsection (f) for the nurse to obtain a copy of the nurse's profile
107	107	to make corrections.
108	108	(e) This section does not:
109	109	(1) prevent the board from providing explanatory
110	110	information regarding the significance of categories in which
111	111	malpractice settlements are reported; or
112	112	(2) require the board to disclose confidential
113	113	settlement information.
114	114	(f) The board shall provide a nurse with a copy of the
115	115	nurse's profile if the nurse requests a copy at the time the nurse
116	116	renews the nurse's license. If a copy is requested by a nurse, the
117	117	board shall provide the nurse one month from the date the copy is
118	118	provided to the nurse to correct factual errors in the nurse's
119	119	profile.
120	120	(g) Except as otherwise provided by this section, the board
121	121	shall update the information contained in a nurse's profile
122	122	annually. The board shall adopt a form that allows a nurse to
123	123	update information contained in a nurse's profile. The form shall
124	124	be made available on the Internet and in other formats as prescribed
125	125	by board rule. The board may adopt rules concerning the type and
126	126	content of additional information that may be included in a nurse's
127	127	profile.
128	128	(h) In addition to the information required by Subsection
129	129	(b) and except as otherwise provided by this section, a profile must
130	130	be updated to contain the text of a formal charge filed under
131	131	Section 301.458 against the nurse or of a board order related to the
132	132	formal charge not later than the 10th business day after the date
133	133	the charge is filed.
134	134	(i) Not later than the 10th business day after the date the
135	135	board issues a final order related to a formal charge filed under
136	136	Section 301.458 against a nurse, the board shall:
137	137	(1) remove from the nurse's profile any record of the
138	138	formal charge or any prior disciplinary action related to the
139	139	formal charge; and
140	140	(2) update the nurse's profile to contain the board's
141	141	final order.
142	142	(j) Information included in a nurse's profile under
143	143	Subsections (b), (h), and (i) may not include any patient
144	144	identifying information.
145	145	(k) Not later than the 10th business day after the date the
146	146	board dismisses a formal charge against a nurse required to be
147	147	included in the nurse's profile under Subsection (b)(11) or (h) as
148	148	baseless, unfounded, or not supported by sufficient evidence that a
149	149	violation occurred, or resolves the charge and takes no action
150	150	against the nurse's license as a result of the charge, the board
151	151	shall:
152	152	(1) remove from the nurse's profile any record of the
153	153	formal charge or any prior disciplinary action related to the
154	154	formal charge; and
155	155	(2) update the nurse's profile to contain the board's
156	156	final order dismissing or resolving the charge.
157	157	(l) The board shall adopt rules as necessary to implement
158	158	this section.
159	159	SECTION 3. Not later than January 1, 2024, the Texas Board
160	160	of Nursing shall adopt rules necessary to implement Section
161	161	301.1583, Occupations Code, as amended by this Act, and Section
162	162	301.1584, Occupations Code, as added by this Act.
163	163	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.