Bill Text: TX SB1690 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Comm Sub


Bill Title: Relating to authority of the Lubbock County Hospital District of Lubbock County, Texas, to employ physicians.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-04-01 - Committee report printed and distributed [SB1690 Detail]

Download: Texas-2019-SB1690-Comm_Sub.html
 
 
  By: Perry  S.B. No. 1690
         (In the Senate - Filed March 6, 2019; March 14, 2019, read
  first time and referred to Committee on Intergovernmental
  Relations; April 1, 2019, reported adversely, with favorable
  Committee Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 6, Nays 0;
  April 1, 2019, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
  COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1690 By:  Schwertner
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to authority of the Lubbock County Hospital District of
  Lubbock County, Texas, to employ physicians.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 1053, Special District
  Local Laws Code, is amended by adding Section 1053.0601 to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 1053.0601.  EMPLOYMENT OF PHYSICIANS TO PROVIDE CERTAIN
  HOSPITAL-BASED SERVICES. (a)  For purposes of this section,
  "hospital-based services" means the following services when
  provided at a hospital:
               (1)  emergency medicine;
               (2)  general medicine practiced by a hospitalist; and
               (3)  radiology services.
         (b)  The board may employ physicians as the board considers
  necessary to provide hospital-based services at a hospital owned or
  operated by the district as provided by this section.  The board may
  retain all or part of the professional income generated by a
  physician employed by the district for those hospital-based
  services if the board satisfies the requirements of this section.
         (c)  The term of an employment contract entered into under
  this section may not exceed five years.
         (d)  This section may not be construed as authorizing the
  board to:
               (1)  supervise or control the practice of medicine, as
  prohibited by Subtitle B, Title 3, Occupations Code; or
               (2)  employ physicians for any purpose other than the
  provision of hospital-based services at a hospital owned or
  operated by the district.
         (e)  The authority granted to the board under Subsection (b)
  to employ physicians shall apply as necessary for the district to
  fulfill the district's statutory mandate to provide medical and
  hospital care to the district's residents, including the district's
  needy and indigent residents, as provided by Sections 1053.101 and
  1053.104.
         (f)  The medical executive committee of the district shall
  adopt, maintain, and enforce policies to ensure that a physician
  employed by the district exercises the physician's independent
  medical judgment in providing care to patients.
         (g)  The policies adopted by the medical executive committee
  under this section must include:
               (1)  policies relating to:
                     (A)  governance of the medical executive
  committee;
                     (B)  credentialing;
                     (C)  quality assurance;
                     (D)  utilization review;
                     (E)  peer review;
                     (F)  medical decision-making; and
                     (G)  due process; and
               (2)  rules requiring the disclosure of financial
  conflicts of interest by a member of the medical executive
  committee.
         (h)  The medical executive committee and the board shall
  jointly develop and implement a conflict management process to
  resolve any conflict between a policy adopted by the medical
  executive committee under this section and a policy of the
  district.
         (i)  A member of the medical executive committee who is a
  physician shall provide biennially to the chair of the medical
  executive committee a signed, verified statement indicating that
  the committee member:
               (1)  is licensed by the Texas Medical Board;
               (2)  will exercise independent medical judgment in all
  medical executive committee matters, including matters relating
  to:
                     (A)  credentialing;
                     (B)  quality assurance;
                     (C)  utilization review;
                     (D)  peer review;
                     (E)  medical decision-making; and
                     (F)  due process;
               (3)  will exercise the committee member's best efforts
  to ensure compliance with the policies that are adopted or
  established by the medical executive committee; and
               (4)  will report immediately to the Texas Medical Board
  any action or event that the committee member reasonably and in good
  faith believes constitutes a compromise of the independent medical
  judgment of a physician in caring for a patient.
         (j)  For all matters relating to the practice of medicine,
  each physician employed by the district shall ultimately report to
  the chair of the medical executive committee for the district.
         SECTION 2.  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, 2019.
 
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