CHAPTER 105. HEALTH PROFESSIONS RESOURCE CENTER - Texas Statutes

HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE

TITLE 2. HEALTH

SUBTITLE E. HEALTH CARE COUNCILS AND RESOURCE CENTERS

CHAPTER 105. HEALTH PROFESSIONS RESOURCE CENTER

Sec. 105.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Health profession" means any health or allied health

profession that is licensed, certified, or registered by a state

board, agency, or association.

(2) "Council" means the statewide health coordinating council.

Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, Sec. 40, eff. Sept. 1,

1991. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1386, Sec. 3, eff.

Sept. 1, 1997.

Sec. 105.002. ESTABLISHMENT OF CENTER. (a) In conjunction with

the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and in such a way

as to avoid duplication of effort, the council shall establish a

comprehensive health professions resource center for the

collection and analysis of educational and employment trends for

health professions in this state.

(b) In conjunction with the committee formed under Section

104.0155, to avoid duplication of effort, and to the extent

funding is available through fees collected under Section

301.155(c), Occupations Code, the council shall establish a

nursing resource section within the center for the collection and

analysis of educational and employment trends for nurses in this

state.

(c) If the nursing resource section established under Subsection

(b) is funded from surcharges collected under Section 301.155(c),

Occupations Code, the council shall provide the Texas Board of

Nursing with an annual accounting of the money received from the

board. The council may expend a reasonable amount of the money

to pay administrative costs of maintaining the nursing resource

section.

Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, Sec. 40, eff. Sept. 1,

1991. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1386, Sec. 4, eff.

Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 728, Sec. 9, eff. June

20, 2003.

Amended by:

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.

113, Sec. 1, eff. May 20, 2005.

Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch.

889, Sec. 62, eff. September 1, 2007.

Sec. 105.003. COLLECTION OF DATA. (a) The council shall place

a high priority on collecting and disseminating data on health

professions demonstrating an acute shortage in this state,

including:

(1) data concerning nursing personnel; and

(2) data concerning the health professions in which shortages

occur in rural areas.

(b) To the extent possible, the council may collect the data

from existing sources that the council determines are credible.

The council may enter agreements with those sources that

establish guidelines concerning the identification, acquisition,

transfer, and confidentiality of the data.

(c) The Department of Information Resources, through TexasOnline

and in consultation with the council and the Health Professions

Council, shall add and label as "mandatory" the following fields

on an application or renewal form for a license, certificate, or

registration for a person subject to Subsection (c-2):

(1) full name and last four digits of social security number;

(2) full mailing address; and

(3) educational background and training, including basic health

professions degree, school name and location of basic health

professions degree, and graduation year for basic health

professions degree, and, as applicable, highest professional

degree obtained, related professional school name and location,

and related graduation year.

(c-1) The Department of Information Resources, through

TexasOnline and in consultation with the council and the Health

Professions Council, shall add the following fields on an

application or renewal form for a license, certificate, or

registration for a person subject to Subsection (c-2):

(1) date and place of birth;

(2) sex;

(3) race and ethnicity;

(4) location of high school;

(5) mailing address of primary practice;

(6) number of hours per week spent at primary practice location;

(7) description of primary practice setting;

(8) primary practice information, including primary specialty

practice, practice location zip code, and county; and

(9) information regarding any additional practice, including

description of practice setting, practice location zip code, and

county.

(c-2) The following health professionals are subject to this

section:

(1) audiologists;

(2) chiropractors;

(3) licensed professional counselors;

(4) licensed chemical dependency counselors;

(5) dentists;

(6) dental hygienists;

(7) emergency medical services personnel;

(8) marriage and family therapists;

(9) medical radiologic technologists;

(10) licensed vocational nurses;

(11) registered nurses;

(12) certified nurse aides;

(13) occupational therapists;

(14) optometrists;

(15) pharmacists;

(16) physical therapists;

(17) physicians;

(18) physician assistants;

(19) psychologists;

(20) social workers; and

(21) speech-language pathologists.

(c-3) The relevant members of the Health Professions Council

shall encourage each person described by Subsection (c-2)

licensed, certified, or registered under that council's authority

to submit application and renewal information under Subsections

(c) and (c-1) through the system developed by the Department of

Information Resources and TexasOnline.

(d) To the extent feasible, the council shall use a researcher

with a doctorate in nursing to collect, analyze, and disseminate

nursing data that may be used to predict supply and demand for

nursing personnel in this state using appropriate federal or

state supply-and-demand models. The nursing data must at least:

(1) include demographics, areas of practice, supply, demand, and

migration; and

(2) be analyzed to identify trends relating to numbers and

geographical distribution, practice setting, and area of practice

and, to the extent possible, compare those trends with

corresponding national trends.

(e) Data received under this section by the nursing resource

section established under Section 105.002 that contains

information identifying specific patients or health care

facilities is confidential, is not subject to disclosure under

Chapter 552, Government Code, and may not be released unless all

identifying information is removed.

(f) The relevant members of the Health Professions Council, in

conjunction with the Department of Information Resources, shall

ensure that the information collected under Subsections (c) and

(c-1) is transmitted to the statewide health coordinating

council. The council shall store the information as needed and

conduct related workforce studies, including a determination of

the geographical distribution of the reporting professionals.

(g) The relevant members of the Health Professions Council, in

conjunction with the Department of Information Resources, shall

ensure that the following information is submitted to the

statewide health coordinating council for a person subject to

Subsection (c-2):

(1) certification, registration, or license number;

(2) issuance date;

(3) method of certification, registration, or licensure; and

(4) certification, registration, or licensure status.

(h) The Department of Information Resources shall work with the

health occupation regulatory agencies that are members of the

Health Professions Council to minimize the costs to Health

Professions Council members of obtaining the information under

Subsections (c) and (c-1). The Department of Information

Resources shall provide the Health Professions Council with the

appropriate federal information processing standards code based

on the information in Subsections (c-1)(8) and (9).

Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, Sec. 40, eff. Sept. 1,

1991. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1386, Sec. 5, eff.

Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 728, Sec. 10, eff. June

20, 2003.

Amended by:

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.

113, Sec. 2, eff. May 20, 2005.

Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch.

486, Sec. 1, eff. March 1, 2008.

Sec. 105.004. REPORTS. (a) The council may use the data

collected and analyzed under this chapter to publish reports

regarding:

(1) the educational and employment trends for health

professions;

(2) the supply and demand of health professions; and

(3) other issues, as necessary, concerning health professions in

this state.

(b) The council shall publish reports regarding the data

collected and analyzed under this chapter related to:

(1) the educational and employment trends of nursing

professionals;

(2) the supply and demand of nursing professionals; and

(3) other issues, as determined necessary by the council,

concerning nursing professionals in this state.

Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, Sec. 40, eff. Sept. 1,

1991. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1386, Sec. 6, eff.

Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 728, Sec. 11, eff. June

20, 2003.

Sec. 105.005. RULES. The executive commissioner of the Health

and Human Services Commission may adopt rules to govern the

reporting and collection of data.

Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, Sec. 40, eff. Sept. 1,

1991.

Amended by:

Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.

797, Sec. 10, eff. June 19, 2009.

Sec. 105.006. ASSISTANCE OF OTHER STATE AGENCIES. The Texas

Higher Education Coordinating Board or the department may require

the assistance of other state agencies or institutions of higher

education for the development of, or the collection of data for,

any report.

Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, Sec. 40, eff. Sept. 1,

1991. Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1276, Sec. 10.001(a),

eff. Sept. 1, 2003.

Sec. 105.007. CLEARINGHOUSE. (a) As part of the comprehensive

health professions resource center, the council shall develop and

establish a clearinghouse for health professionals seeking

collaborative practice.

(b) The council may:

(1) set and collect a reasonable fee to offset the cost of

complying with this section;

(2) solicit, receive, and spend grants, gifts, and donations

from public and private sources to comply with this section; and

(3) contract with public or private entities in the performance

of its responsibilities under this section.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 965, Sec. 1, eff. June 16,

1995. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1386, Sec. 7, eff.

Sept. 1, 1997.

Sec. 105.008. STUDY OF ALTERNATE WAYS TO ASSURE CLINICAL

COMPETENCY OF GRADUATES OF NURSING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS. (a) In

this section:

(1) "Clinical competency assessment program" means a

professional nursing prelicensure program that employs a

criterion-referenced summative performance examination, developed

by subject matter experts, to verify its graduates' attainment of

the clinical competency necessary for initial licensure as a

registered nurse.

(2) "Professional nursing prelicensure program" means a

professional nursing educational program that prepares students

to obtain an initial license as a registered nurse.

(3) "Research study" means the study described by Subsection

(b).

(4) "Supervised clinical learning experiences program" means a

professional nursing prelicensure program that requires students

to complete a required number of supervised clinical learning

experiences provided by qualified clinical faculty involving

multiple, ongoing assessments and feedback.

(b) To the extent funding is available, the nursing resource

section established under Section 105.002(b) shall conduct a

research study to identify:

(1) a set of expected student outcomes in terms of clinical

judgment and behaviors that professional nursing students should

possess at the time of graduation from a professional nursing

prelicensure program;

(2) standardized, reliable, and valid clinical exit evaluation

tools that could be used to evaluate the competencies in clinical

judgment and behaviors that professional nursing students possess

at the time of graduation from a professional nursing

prelicensure program;

(3) any correlation between the success rate of graduates of

professional nursing prelicensure programs on standardized

clinical exit evaluation tools and their educational and

experiential background, including:

(A) length and type of health care work experience before

entering the professional nursing prelicensure programs;

(B) health care work experience during the professional nursing

prelicensure programs; and

(C) alternative methods of teaching clinical judgment and

behaviors, including supervised clinicals and simulation

laboratories; and

(4) any correlation between the required number of hours in

supervised clinical learning experiences and expected student

outcomes in terms of clinical judgment and behaviors.

(c) In addition to any other objective, the research study must

be designed to determine if the graduates of a clinical

competency assessment program are substantially equivalent to the

graduates of supervised clinical learning experiences programs in

terms of clinical judgments and behaviors. For purposes of this

subsection, the clinical competency assessment program must be

one that:

(1) has been requiring a clinical competency assessment for at

least 10 years;

(2) has students who reside in this state;

(3) has graduates who have been considered by the Texas Board of

Nursing to be eligible to apply for a registered nurse license as

a result of graduating from the program on or before January 1,

2007; and

(4) conducts the clinical competency assessment at a facility or

facilities located in this state under the supervision of a

qualified clinical faculty member who is a registered nurse and

who holds a master's or doctoral degree in nursing.

(d) Considerations to be used in determining substantial

equivalence under Subsection (c) must include the differences

between the clinical competency assessment program and the

supervised clinical learning experiences program in:

(1) the methods of evaluating students' clinical judgment and

behaviors;

(2) performance on standardized clinical exit evaluation tools;

(3) the ability of graduates to transition to and assimilate in

the registered nurse's role; and

(4) passage rates on the National Council Licensure Examination.

(e) The nursing resource section shall contract with an

independent researcher to develop the research design and conduct

the research. The independent researcher must be selected by a

selection committee composed of:

(1) one representative elected by a majority of the nursing

advisory committee under Section 104.0155, who is the chair of

the selection committee;

(2) one representative designated by the Texas Health Care

Policy Council;

(3) the presiding officer of the Texas Board of Nursing;

(4) one representative of the Texas Higher Education

Coordinating Board, designated by the governor;

(5) one representative designated by the Texas Hospital

Association;

(6) one representative designated by the Texas Association of

Business;

(7) one representative designated by a clinical competency

assessment program that meets the requirements of Section

301.157(d-8), Occupations Code; and

(8) the nurse researcher member of the nursing advisory

committee under Section 104.0155.

(f) The nursing resource section shall complete the study not

later than June 30, 2014, and shall submit a report to the office

of the governor, the Senate Committee on Health and Human

Services, and the House Committee on Public Health. The report

must include a research abstract prepared by the independent

researcher.

(g) The nursing resource section may cooperate with the Texas

Board of Nursing and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating

Board in conducting the study.

(h) The nursing advisory committee formed under Section 104.0155

shall serve as the oversight committee for the study.

(i) Any data collected as part of the study that contains

information identifying specific students, patients, or health

care facilities is confidential, is not subject to disclosure

under Chapter 552, Government Code, and may not be released

unless all identifying information is removed.

(j) In addition to funds appropriated by the legislature, the

nursing resource section may solicit, receive, and spend grants,

gifts, and donations from public or private sources for the

purpose of conducting the study.

(k) If grants or other funds are available through the National

Council of State Boards of Nursing that could be used to fund the

study, the nursing resource section shall apply for the funds to

the maximum amount available up to the estimated cost of the

study. In making the application or accepting the funding, the

nursing resource section may not relinquish any oversight

responsibility for the study, including responsibility for

designing and conducting the research or developing the findings.

Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.

999, Sec. 16, eff. June 19, 2009.