Bill Text: TX SB1119 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to a pilot project to evaluate the use of telepractice to provide certain services to children and adults with an autism spectrum disorder.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-16 - Referred to Health & Human Services [SB1119 Detail]
Download: Texas-2015-SB1119-Introduced.html
84R1178 EES-D | ||
By: Lucio | S.B. No. 1119 |
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relating to a pilot project to evaluate the use of telepractice to | ||
provide certain services to children and adults with an autism | ||
spectrum disorder. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 531, Government Code, is | ||
amended by adding Section 531.02177 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 531.02177. AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER TELEPRACTICE | ||
PILOT PROJECT. (a) In this section, "telepractice" means the use | ||
of telecommunications technology to facilitate a diagnosis or | ||
intervention. | ||
(b) The commission shall develop and implement a six-year | ||
pilot project in which evidence-based diagnostic and intervention | ||
services are provided to children and adults with an autism | ||
spectrum disorder by telepractice by certain physicians and health | ||
and other professionals. | ||
(c) The executive commissioner shall adopt rules necessary | ||
to develop and implement the pilot project under this section. The | ||
rules adopted under this section: | ||
(1) must allow a service provider to be physically | ||
located at and provide services from any site located in or | ||
associated with the autism centers at the following institutions: | ||
(A) The University of Texas Health Science Center | ||
at Houston; | ||
(B) Baylor College of Medicine; | ||
(C) the University of Houston--Clear Lake; | ||
(D) The University of Texas at Dallas and The | ||
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; | ||
(E) the University of North Texas; | ||
(F) Texas A&M University; | ||
(G) The University of Texas at Austin; | ||
(H) Texas State University; and | ||
(I) Texas Tech University; | ||
(2) must require services to be provided by a person | ||
authorized to provide telemedicine medical services or telehealth | ||
services or by any of the following persons employed by or under | ||
contract with one of the autism centers described in Subdivision | ||
(1): | ||
(A) a board certified behavior analyst; | ||
(B) an occupational therapist; | ||
(C) a speech-language therapist; or | ||
(D) a physical therapist; | ||
(3) must require that the scope of services that may be | ||
provided by telepractice includes those services that may be | ||
provided through telemedicine medical services and telehealth | ||
services and intensive behavioral intervention, applied behavioral | ||
analysis, and speech-language evaluation and treatment; | ||
(4) may not require a participant in the pilot project | ||
to submit to an in-person evaluation by a service provider before | ||
the participant receives services by telepractice from the | ||
provider; | ||
(5) may not require a person to reside in a rural area | ||
or a medically underserved area as a condition of participating in | ||
the pilot project; | ||
(6) must require a participant to be physically | ||
located at and receive services at a site at which a person may | ||
receive telemedicine medical services or telehealth services or any | ||
of the following sites: | ||
(A) a primary or secondary school; | ||
(B) an alternative education center; | ||
(C) an education service center; | ||
(D) a licensed child-care facility; | ||
(E) a site where Head Start or Early Head Start | ||
program services are provided; | ||
(F) a site where early childhood intervention | ||
services are provided; or | ||
(G) the participant's home; | ||
(7) must allow the following persons to be present at a | ||
site where a participant receives services, to introduce the | ||
participant to the service provider, and to perform any tasks | ||
delegated by the service provider: | ||
(A) a person authorized to be a site presenter at | ||
a site where a person is receiving telemedicine medical services or | ||
telehealth services; | ||
(B) a certified elementary or secondary school | ||
teacher; | ||
(C) a licensed early childhood education and care | ||
professional; | ||
(D) a licensed specialist in school psychology; | ||
(E) a certified educational diagnostician; | ||
(F) an early childhood intervention services | ||
provider who is not credentialed to provide qualified mental health | ||
professional community services; | ||
(G) a registered or licensed vocational nurse who | ||
is not credentialed to provide qualified mental health professional | ||
community services; | ||
(H) a board certified behavior analyst; | ||
(I) a speech-language therapist; | ||
(J) an occupational therapist; | ||
(K) a physical therapist; | ||
(L) a person who conducts home visits under the | ||
Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program; or | ||
(M) a promotora, as defined by Section 48.001, | ||
Health and Safety Code; | ||
(8) must require that a service provider maintain all | ||
records relating to the service provider's telepractice | ||
interaction with a participant and provide copies of those records | ||
to the participant; and | ||
(9) may not require a person present at a site where a | ||
participant is receiving services to maintain records relating to a | ||
service provider's telepractice interaction with the participant | ||
that are created at the site where the service provider is located. | ||
(d) Not later than December 1, 2022, the commission shall | ||
submit a report to the legislature evaluating the pilot project. | ||
The report required by this subsection may be submitted | ||
electronically. | ||
(e) This section expires September 1, 2023. | ||
SECTION 2. Not later than December 1, 2015, the executive | ||
commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission shall | ||
adopt the rules required by Section 531.02177, Government Code, as | ||
added by this Act. | ||
SECTION 3. Not later than January 1, 2016, the Health and | ||
Human Services Commission shall ensure that the pilot project | ||
required by Section 531.02177, Government Code, as added by this | ||
Act, is in operation. | ||
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives | ||
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | ||
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this | ||
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this | ||
Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |