| (a) These rules are promulgated under the authority
of the Medical Practice Act, Title 3, Subtitle B, Texas Occupations
Code and the Respiratory Care Practitioners Act, Title 3, Subtitle
K, Chapter 604, Texas Occupations Code, to establish procedures and
standards for the training, education, certifying, and discipline
of persons performing as a respiratory care practitioner in this state
so as to establish an orderly system of regulating the practice of
a respiratory care practitioner in a manner that protects the health,
safety, and welfare of the public.
(b) The functions of the Texas Board of Respiratory
Care include but are not limited to the following:
(1) Establish standards for the practice of a respiratory
care practitioner.
(2) Regulate the practice of a respiratory care practitioner
through the certification and discipline of respiratory care practitioners.
(3) Interpret the Respiratory Care Practitioners Act
and the Texas Board of Respiratory Care rules to ensure that respiratory
care practitioners, other allied health professionals, and consumers
are properly informed.
(4) Receive complaints and investigate possible violations
of the Respiratory Care Practitioners Act and the Texas Board of Respiratory
Care rules.
(5) Discipline violators through appropriate legal
action to enforce the Respiratory Care Practitioners Act and the Texas
Board of Respiratory Care rules.
(6) Provide a mechanism for public comment with regard
to the Respiratory Care Practitioners Act and the Texas Board of Respiratory
Care rules.
(7) Review and modify the Texas Board of Respiratory
Care rules when necessary and appropriate. All rules approved by the
advisory board are to be submitted to the Medical Board for consideration
in accordance with Texas Occupations Code §604.0522(b).
(8) Examine and certify, in conjunction with the Texas
Medical Board, procedures for issuing certificates, as implemented
by its licensure division, to qualified applicants to practice as
a respiratory care practitioner in Texas in a manner that ensures
that applicable standards are maintained.
(9) Provide recommendations to the Texas Medical Board
for consideration by the legislature concerning appropriate changes
to the Respiratory Care Practitioners Act to ensure that the acts
are current and applicable to changing needs and practices.
(10) Provide public information on certificate holders.
(11) Maintain data concerning the practice of a respiratory
care practitioner.
|
