Bill Text: TX HB1745 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Introduced

Texas House Bill 1745 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Relating to suicide reporting by hospitals and emergency medical care facilities.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-03-04 - Referred to Public Health [HB1745 Detail]

Download: Texas-2013-HB1745-Introduced.html

	83R3736 AED-D

	By: Naishtat	H.B. No. 1745



	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to suicide reporting by hospitals and emergency medical
	care facilities.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1. Section 108.002, Health and Safety Code, is
	amended by adding Subdivisions (1-a) and (8-b) and amending
	Subdivisions (8-a) and (12) to read as follows:
	(1-a) "Attempted suicide" means a self-inflicted,
	destructive act committed with explicit or inferred intent to die.
	(8-a) "Emergency medical care facility" means a
	freestanding emergency medical care facility licensed under
	Chapter 254.
	(8-b) "Executive commissioner" means the executive
	commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission.
	(12) "Hospital" means a public, for-profit, or
	nonprofit institution licensed or owned by this state that is a
	general or special hospital, private mental hospital, chronic
	disease hospital, or other type of hospital. The term includes a
	hospital's emergency room.
	SECTION 2. Chapter 108, Health and Safety Code, is amended
	by adding Section 108.0101 to read as follows:
	Sec. 108.0101. COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION OF ATTEMPTED
	SUICIDE INFORMATION. (a) The department shall collect information
	regarding an attempted suicide by a patient examined by a hospital
	or emergency medical care facility.
	(b) Notwithstanding Sections 108.006(b)(3) and 108.009(f),
	a hospital or emergency medical care facility shall submit a report
	regarding a patient's attempted suicide not later than the 30th day
	after the date the hospital or emergency medical care facility
	examines the patient.
	(c) Notwithstanding Sections 108.006(b)(3) and 108.009(f),
	a hospital or emergency medical care facility shall report to the
	department any month when the hospital or facility had zero
	attempted suicides during the month. The report must be in the form
	prescribed by the department and submitted not later than the 15th
	day of the following month.
	(d) A person who submits a report of an attempted suicide
	under this section or examines or treats an attempted suicide
	reported under this section may not be held civilly or criminally
	liable for complying with the requirements of this section.
	(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter,
	reports, records, and information obtained or developed by the
	department under this section are confidential and are not subject
	to disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code, are not subject
	to subpoena, and may not otherwise be released or made public except
	as provided by this section.
	(f) Each quarter, at the request of an agency or
	organization with recognized expertise in suicide prevention, the
	department shall release information reported under this section,
	in the form of a statistical report, to the agency or organization.
	The statistical report must be released in a manner that prevents
	the identification of any person. The department may charge the
	agency or organization a reasonable fee to offset the costs of
	releasing the statistical report. The agency or organization may
	use information contained in a statistical report received under
	this subsection only for suicide prevention purposes.
	(g) Information collected under this section may be
	released for statistical purposes if released in a manner that
	maintains patient confidentiality as provided by Section 108.013.
	(h) The executive commissioner may adopt rules necessary to
	implement this section.
	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.