Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB93 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R2520 BEE-D
2	2	By: Hall S.B. No. 93
3	3
4	4
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to complaint information and to rulemaking and
10	10	disciplinary procedures of the Texas Medical Board.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 153.001, Occupations Code, is amended to
13	13	read as follows:
14	14	Sec. 153.001. ADOPTION OF RULES. (a) The board may adopt
15	15	rules and bylaws as necessary to:
16	16	(1) govern its own proceedings;
17	17	(2) perform its duties;
18	18	(3) regulate the practice of medicine in this state;
19	19	and
20	20	(4) enforce this subtitle.
21	21	(b) Notwithstanding any other law and except as otherwise
22	22	provided by this subsection, the board must hold a public hearing
23	23	with a public comment period on a proposed rule before adopting the
24	24	rule. This subsection does not apply to an emergency rule adopted
25	25	or renewed in accordance with Section 2001.034, Government Code.
26	26	SECTION 2. Section 154.051, Occupations Code, is amended by
27	27	amending Subsections (a), (b), and (c) and adding Subsections (c-1)
28	28	and (d-2) to read as follows:
29	29	(a) The board by rule shall establish methods by which
30	30	members of the public and license holders are notified of the name,
31	31	mailing address, and telephone number of the board for the purpose
32	32	of obtaining information about complaint procedures and directing
33	33	complaints to the board. The board may provide for that notice:
34	34	(1) on each registration form, application, or written
35	35	contract for services of a person or entity regulated under this
36	36	subtitle;
37	37	(2) on a sign prominently displayed in the place of
38	38	business of each person or entity regulated under this subtitle; or
39	39	(3) in a bill for service provided by a person or
40	40	entity regulated under this subtitle.
41	41	(b) The board shall list with its regular telephone number
42	42	any toll-free telephone number established under other state law
43	43	that may be called to obtain information about how to present a
44	44	complaint about a health professional.
45	45	(c) A person, including a partnership, association,
46	46	corporation, or other entity, may not file a complaint against a
47	47	license holder with the board unless the person:
48	48	(1) is:
49	49	(A) a patient of the license holder; or
50	50	(B) directly involved in the care of a patient of
51	51	the license holder and the complaint concerns the license holder's
52	52	provision of care to that patient; or
53	53	(2) is not a person described by Subdivision (1) and
54	54	has direct knowledge of the incident that is the subject of the
55	55	complaint.
56	56	(c-1) The board may file a complaint on its own initiative.
57	57	(d-2) Notwithstanding Subsections (d) and (d-1), the board
58	58	may consider or act on a complaint involving conduct that
59	59	constitutes a criminal offense at any time before the expiration of
60	60	the applicable statute of limitations for the offense.
61	61	SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 154, Occupations Code, is
62	62	amended by adding Section 154.0511 to read as follows:
63	63	Sec. 154.0511. FORM OF CERTAIN COMPLAINTS. The board may
64	64	not accept or take action regarding, or require a license holder to
65	65	respond to, a complaint filed with the board by a person described
66	66	by Section 154.051(c)(2) unless the complaint is in writing and
67	67	includes:
68	68	(1) the name of the complainant; and
69	69	(2) a sworn affidavit that:
70	70	(A) states that all of the facts asserted in the
71	71	complaint are:
72	72	(i) true; and
73	73	(ii) based on personal knowledge of the
74	74	physician's care of a patient identified in the complaint; and
75	75	(B) is executed before a notary public under
76	76	penalty of perjury.
77	77	SECTION 4. Section 154.053, Occupations Code, is amended by
78	78	amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
79	79	follows:
80	80	(a) Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), the [The] board
81	81	shall notify a physician who is the subject of a complaint filed
82	82	with the board that a complaint has been filed and shall provide
83	83	[notify] the physician with a complete copy [of the nature] of the
84	84	complaint, including the name of the complainant [unless the notice
85	85	would jeopardize an investigation].
86	86	(a-1) The board shall redact the name of the complainant
87	87	from the complete copy of the complaint provided to the physician
88	88	under Subsection (a) if the complaint filed with the board is in
89	89	writing and includes:
90	90	(1) the name of the complainant; and
91	91	(2) a sworn affidavit that:
92	92	(A) states that all of the facts asserted in the
93	93	complaint are:
94	94	(i) true; and
95	95	(ii) based on personal knowledge of the
96	96	physician's care of a patient identified in the complaint; and
97	97	(B) is executed before a notary public under
98	98	penalty of perjury.
99	99	SECTION 5. Section 154.056, Occupations Code, is amended by
100	100	adding Subsections (b-1), (b-2), (b-3), (b-4), and (b-5) and
101	101	amending Subsection (e) to read as follows:
102	102	(b-1) The board must complete the investigation of a
103	103	complaint not later than the 120th day after the date the complaint
104	104	is filed with the board, except that the board may extend the period
105	105	for investigating the complaint for an additional 30 days if
106	106	extenuating circumstances prevent the completion of the
107	107	investigation within the 120-day period.
108	108	(b-2) In conducting an investigation of a complaint filed
109	109	with the board, the board may not investigate matters that are
110	110	outside of the scope of the filed complaint. This subsection
111	111	applies at all times before the resolution of the complaint,
112	112	including during the initial investigation period and any informal
113	113	proceeding or disciplinary hearing.
114	114	(b-3) Except as provided by Subsection (b-4), the board may
115	115	not investigate a complaint involving a violation alleged to have
116	116	occurred more than three years before the date the complaint is
117	117	filed.
118	118	(b-4) The board may not investigate a complaint that alleges
119	119	a violation involving care provided to a person who was 17 years of
120	120	age or younger at the time of the alleged violation unless the
121	121	complaint is filed on or before the person's 20th birthday.
122	122	(b-5) Notwithstanding Subsections (b-3) and (b-4), the
123	123	board may investigate a complaint that alleges a violation
124	124	involving conduct constituting a criminal offense as provided by
125	125	Section 154.051(d-2).
126	126	(e) The board by rule shall provide for an expert physician
127	127	panel appointed by the board to assist with complaints and
128	128	investigations relating to medical competency by acting as expert
129	129	physician reviewers. Each member of the expert physician panel
130	130	must be a physician licensed to practice medicine in a member state,
131	131	as defined by Section 171.002, and engaged in the active practice of
132	132	medicine. The rules adopted under this subsection must include
133	133	provisions governing the composition of the panel, qualifications
134	134	for membership on the panel, length of time a member may serve on
135	135	the panel, grounds for removal from the panel, the avoidance of
136	136	conflicts of interest, including situations in which the affected
137	137	physician and the panel member live or work in the same geographical
138	138	area or are competitors, and the duties to be performed by the
139	139	panel. The board's rules governing grounds for removal from the
140	140	panel must include providing for the removal of a panel member who
141	141	is repeatedly delinquent in reviewing complaints and in submitting
142	142	reports to the board. The board's rules governing appointment of
143	143	expert physician panel members to act as expert physician reviewers
144	144	must include a requirement that the board randomly select, to the
145	145	extent permitted by Section 154.058(b) and the conflict of interest
146	146	provisions adopted under this subsection, panel members to review a
147	147	complaint who are:
148	148	(1) licensed to practice medicine in this state; or
149	149	(2) licensed to practice medicine in a member state,
150	150	as defined by Section 171.002, if there are no panel members
151	151	licensed to practice medicine in this state available to review the
152	152	complaint in a timely manner.
153	153	SECTION 6. Section 154.058, Occupations Code, is amended to
154	154	read as follows:
155	155	Sec. 154.058. EXPERT PHYSICIAN REVIEW AND DETERMINATION OF
156	156	MEDICAL COMPETENCY. (a) Each complaint against a physician that
157	157	requires a determination of medical competency shall be reviewed
158	158	initially by a board member, consultant, or employee [with a
159	159	medical background considered sufficient by the board]. A board
160	160	member, consultant, or employee who reviews a complaint under this
161	161	subsection must be a physician licensed in this state and engaged in
162	162	the active practice of medicine.
163	163	(b) If the initial review under Subsection (a) indicates
164	164	that an act by a physician may fall [falls] below an acceptable
165	165	standard of care, the complaint shall be reviewed by five expert
166	166	physician reviewers who:
167	167	(1) are selected from the [an] expert physician panel
168	168	authorized under Section 154.056(e); and
169	169	(2) have an active [consisting of physicians who]
170	170	practice in the same specialty as the physician who is the subject
171	171	of the complaint [or in another specialty that is similar to the
172	172	physician's specialty].
173	173	(b-1) The physician who is the subject of the complaint is
174	174	entitled to strike any expert physician panel member from
175	175	participating in the review under Subsection (b) if the subject
176	176	physician is aware that the panel member's participation represents
177	177	a conflict of interest, including a situation in which the subject
178	178	physician and the panel member live or work in the same geographical
179	179	area or are competitors.
180	180	(b-2) Each expert physician panel member reviewing a
181	181	complaint under this section must:
182	182	(1) be provided separate copies of the complaint
183	183	information; and
184	184	(2) before communicating with another expert
185	185	physician reviewer, independently:
186	186	(A) review the complaint information; and
187	187	(B) form an opinion as to whether an act by the
188	188	physician who is the subject of the complaint falls below an
189	189	acceptable standard of care.
190	190	(b-3) After each expert physician panel member selected
191	191	under Subsection (b) independently reviews the complaint
192	192	information and forms an opinion as described by Subsection
193	193	(b-2)(2), the expert physician reviewers shall vote on the question
194	194	of whether an act by the physician who is the subject of the
195	195	complaint falls below an acceptable standard of care.
196	196	(c) The expert physician reviewers [panel] shall report in
197	197	writing the reviewers' [panel's] determinations based on the review
198	198	of the complaint under Subsection (b), including the results of the
199	199	vote under Subsection (b-3). The report must specify the standard
200	200	of care that applies to the facts that are the basis of the
201	201	complaint and the clinical basis for the reviewers' [panel's]
202	202	determinations, including any reliance on peer-reviewed journals,
203	203	studies, or reports.
204	204	(d) Notwithstanding any other law, the board may not take
205	205	any disciplinary action against a physician who is the subject of a
206	206	complaint reviewed under this section unless the expert physician
207	207	reviewers determine by a three-fourths vote under Subsection (b-3)
208	208	that an act by the subject physician falls below an acceptable
209	209	standard of care. If the expert physician reviewers do not
210	210	determine by a three-fourths vote that the act falls below an
211	211	acceptable standard of care, the board shall dismiss the reviewed
212	212	complaint with prejudice.
213	213	SECTION 7. Sections 164.003(f) and (i), Occupations Code,
214	214	are amended to read as follows:
215	215	(f) The notice required by Subsection (b)(2) must be
216	216	accompanied by a written statement of the nature of the allegations
217	217	and the information the board intends to use at the meeting. If the
218	218	board does not provide the statement or information at that time,
219	219	the license holder may use that failure as grounds for rescheduling
220	220	the informal meeting. If the complaint includes an allegation that
221	221	the license holder has violated the standard of care, the notice
222	222	must include a copy of the [each] report prepared [by an expert
223	223	physician reviewer] under Section 154.058(c) [154.0561]. The
224	224	license holder must provide to the board the license holder's
225	225	rebuttal at least 15 business days before the date of the meeting in
226	226	order for the information to be considered at the meeting.
227	227	(i) Any person participating in the informal settlement
228	228	conference proceeding may [On request by a physician under review,
229	229	the board shall] make a recording of the [informal settlement
230	230	conference] proceeding. A recording made under this subsection may
231	231	be used in any subsequent legal proceeding [The recording is a part
232	232	of the investigative file and may not be released to a third party
233	233	unless authorized under this subtitle. The board may charge the
234	234	physician a fee to cover the cost of recording the proceeding].
235	235	SECTION 8. Section 164.007(a), Occupations Code, is amended
236	236	to read as follows:
237	237	(a) The board by rule shall adopt procedures governing
238	238	formal disposition of a contested case under Chapter 2001,
239	239	Government Code. A formal hearing shall be conducted by an
240	240	administrative law judge employed by the State Office of
241	241	Administrative Hearings. After receiving the administrative law
242	242	judge's findings of fact and conclusions of law, the board shall[:
243	243	[(1)] dispose of the contested case by issuing a final
244	244	order based on the administrative law judge's findings of fact and
245	245	conclusions of law[; or
246	246	[(2) appeal the administrative law judge's findings of
247	247	fact and conclusions of law in the manner provided by Section
248	248	164.0072].
249	249	SECTION 9. The following provisions of the Occupations Code
250	250	are repealed:
251	251	(1) Section 154.0561; and
252	252	(2) Section 164.0072.
253	253	SECTION 10. Not later than the 30th day after the effective
254	254	date of this Act, the Texas Medical Board shall adopt rules as
255	255	necessary to implement the changes in law made by this Act.
256	256	SECTION 11. The changes in law made by this Act apply only
257	257	to a complaint, or a disciplinary action based on a complaint, filed
258	258	on or after the 30th day after the effective date of this Act. A
259	259	complaint, or a disciplinary action based on a complaint, filed
260	260	before the 30th day after the effective date of this Act is governed
261	261	by the law in effect immediately before the effective date of this
262	262	Act, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
263	263	SECTION 12. This Act takes effect immediately if it
264	264	receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
265	265	house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
266	266	If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
267	267	effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2025.