H.B. No. 49
AN ACT
relating to public access to certain hospital investigation
information and materials.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 241.051, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (d) and (e) and adding Subsections
(f), (g), and (h) to read as follows:
(d) Except as provided by Subsection (e), all [All]
information and materials in the possession of or obtained or
compiled by the commission [department] in connection with a
complaint and investigation concerning a hospital are confidential
and not subject to disclosure under Chapter 552 [Section 552.001 et
seq.], Government Code, and not subject to disclosure, discovery,
subpoena, or other means of legal compulsion for their release to
anyone other than the commission [department] or its employees or
agents involved in the enforcement action except that this
information may be disclosed to:
(1) persons involved with the commission [department]
in the enforcement action against the hospital;
(2) the hospital that is the subject of the
enforcement action, or the hospital's authorized representative;
(3) appropriate state or federal agencies that are
authorized to inspect, survey, or investigate hospital services;
(4) law enforcement agencies; and
(5) persons engaged in bona fide research, if all
individual-identifying and hospital-identifying information has
been deleted.
(e) The following information is subject to disclosure in
accordance with Chapter 552 [Section 552.001 et seq.], Government
Code, only to the extent that all personally identifiable
information of a patient or health care provider is omitted from the
information:
(1) a notice of the hospital's alleged violation
[against the hospital], which must [notice shall] include the
provisions of law [which] the hospital is alleged to have violated,
and a general statement of the nature of the alleged violation;
(2) the number of investigations the commission has
conducted of the hospital;
(3) the pleadings in any [the] administrative
proceeding to impose a penalty against the hospital for the alleged
violation;
(4) the outcome of each investigation the commission
conducted of the hospital, including:
(A) the issuance of a reprimand;
(B) the denial or revocation of a license;
(C) the adoption of a corrective action plan; or
(D) the imposition of an administrative penalty
and the penalty amount; and
(5) [(3)] a final decision, investigative report, or
order issued by the commission to address the alleged violation
[department].
(f) Not later than the 90th day after the date the
commission issues a final decision, investigative report, or order
to address a hospital's alleged violation, the commission shall
post on the commission's Internet website:
(1) the notice of alleged violation described by
Subsection (e)(1);
(2) the name of the hospital;
(3) the geographic location of the hospital;
(4) the date the commission issued the final decision,
investigative report, or order; and
(5) the outcome of the commission's investigation of
the hospital that includes the information described by Subsection
(e)(4).
(g) The commission may not remove information posted on the
commission's Internet website under Subsection (f) before the
second anniversary of the date the information is posted on the
Internet website.
(h) Nothing in this section precludes a hospital from
releasing medical records in the hospital's possession:
(1) on the request of the patient who is the subject of
the record; or
(2) to the patient, the parent or guardian of a patient
who is a minor or incapacitated, or the personal representative of a
patient who is deceased.
SECTION 2. Section 577.013, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (d) and (e) and adding Subsections
(f), (g), (h), and (i) to read as follows:
(d) Except as provided by Subsection (e), all [All]
information and materials in the possession of or obtained or
compiled by the commission [department] in connection with a
complaint and investigation concerning a mental hospital licensed
under this chapter are confidential and not subject to disclosure,
discovery, subpoena, or other means of legal compulsion for their
release to anyone other than the commission [department] or its
employees or agents involved in the enforcement action except that
this information may be disclosed to:
(1) persons involved with the commission [department]
in the enforcement action against the licensed mental hospital;
(2) the licensed mental hospital that is the subject
of the enforcement action, or the licensed mental hospital's
authorized representative;
(3) appropriate state or federal agencies that are
authorized to inspect, survey, or investigate licensed mental
hospital services;
(4) law enforcement agencies; and
(5) persons engaged in bona fide research, if all
individual-identifying information and information identifying the
licensed mental hospital has been deleted.
(e) The following information is subject to disclosure in
accordance with Chapter 552 [Section 552.001 et seq.], Government
Code, only to the extent that all personally identifiable
information of a patient or health care provider is omitted from the
information:
(1) a notice of the licensed mental hospital's alleged
violation [against the licensed mental hospital], which must
[notice shall] include the provisions of law [which] the licensed
mental hospital is alleged to have violated, and the nature of the
alleged violation;
(2) the number of investigations the commission has
conducted of the licensed mental hospital;
(3) the pleadings in any [the] administrative
proceeding to impose a penalty against the licensed mental hospital
for the alleged violation;
(4) the outcome of each investigation the commission
conducted of the licensed mental hospital, including:
(A) the issuance of a reprimand;
(B) the denial or revocation of a license;
(C) the adoption of a corrective action plan; or
(D) the imposition of an administrative penalty
and the penalty amount; and
(5) [(3)] a final decision, investigative report, or
order issued by the commission to address the alleged violation
[department].
(f) Not later than the 90th day after the date the
commission issues a final decision, investigative report, or order
to address a licensed mental hospital's alleged violation, the
commission shall post on the commission's Internet website:
(1) the notice of alleged violation described by
Subsection (e)(1);
(2) the name of the licensed mental hospital;
(3) the geographic location of the licensed mental
hospital;
(4) the date the commission issued the final decision,
investigative report, or order; and
(5) the outcome of the commission's investigation of
the licensed mental hospital that includes the information
described by Subsection (e)(4).
(g) The commission may not remove information posted on the
commission's Internet website under Subsection (f) before the
second anniversary of the date the information is posted on the
Internet website.
(h) Nothing in this section precludes a licensed mental
hospital from releasing medical records in the licensed mental
hospital's possession:
(1) on request of the patient who is the subject of the
record; or
(2) to the patient, the parent or guardian of a patient
who is a minor or incapacitated, or the personal representative of a
patient who is deceased.
(i) In this section, "commission" means the Health and Human
Services Commission.
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an investigation of an alleged violation by a hospital or licensed
mental hospital that is finalized on or after the effective date of
this Act.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 49 was passed by the House on April 4,
2023, by the following vote: Yeas 147, Nays 0, 1 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 49 was passed by the Senate on May 3,
2023, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor