| 1 | 1 | | By: Hall S.B. No. 2174 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 6 | | relating to conducting certain medical examinations using |
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| 7 | 7 | | telemedicine under the workers' compensation system. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Section 408.123, Labor Code, is amended by adding |
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| 10 | 10 | | Subsections (i) and (j) to read as follows: |
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| 11 | 11 | | (i) A medical examination conducted to certify maximum |
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| 12 | 12 | | medical improvement or assign an impairment rating may be performed |
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| 13 | 13 | | using telehealth services or telemedicine medical services, as |
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| 14 | 14 | | defined by Section 111.001, Occupations Code. Except as provided |
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| 15 | 15 | | by Subsection (j), a health care professional must be physically |
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| 16 | 16 | | present in the room in which the employee is located to assist the |
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| 17 | 17 | | certifying doctor in conducting the examination and administering |
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| 18 | 18 | | any necessary testing. For purposes of this subsection, "health |
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| 19 | 19 | | care professional" means an individual licensed, certified, or |
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| 20 | 20 | | otherwise authorized to administer health care, for profit or |
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| 21 | 21 | | otherwise, in the ordinary course of business or professional |
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| 22 | 22 | | practice. |
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| 23 | 23 | | (j) A health care professional is not required to be |
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| 24 | 24 | | physically present in the room in which the patient is located |
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| 25 | 25 | | during a medical examination performed using telehealth services or |
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| 26 | 26 | | telemedicine medical services as provided by Subsection (i) that is |
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| 27 | 27 | | conducted to assign an impairment rating if: |
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| 28 | 28 | | (1) a doctor certified maximum medical improvement |
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| 29 | 29 | | during an examination; and |
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| 30 | 30 | | (2) based on the examination described by Subdivision |
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| 31 | 31 | | (1), the doctor concluded there was no possibility of impairment. |
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| 32 | 32 | | SECTION 2. Sections 408.123(i) and (j), Labor Code, as |
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| 33 | 33 | | added by this Act, apply only to a medical examination to certify an |
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| 34 | 34 | | employee's maximum medical improvement or assign an employee's |
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| 35 | 35 | | impairment rating conducted on or after the effective date of this |
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| 36 | 36 | | Act. A medical examination conducted before the effective date of |
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| 37 | 37 | | this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the |
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| 38 | 38 | | examination was conducted, and the former law is continued in |
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| 39 | 39 | | effect for that purpose. |
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| 40 | 40 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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