The Executive Commissioner of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), on behalf of the Department of State Health Services (DSHS), adopts amendments to §157.33, concerning Certification; §157.34, concerning Recertification; and §157.125, concerning Requirements for Trauma Facility Designation. The amendments to §§157.33, 157.34, and 157.125 are adopted without changes to the proposed text as published in the September 20, 2019, issue of the Texas Register (44 TexReg 5361), and therefore will not be republished.

BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION

The amendments are necessary to comply with House Bill (H.B.) 871 and H.B. 1418, 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019, which requires HHSC to adopt rules to implement the legislation. H.B. 871 requires adoption of rules not later than December 1, 2019.

H.B. 871 amended Texas Health and Safety Code, §773.1151, which authorizes a hospital located in a county with a population of less than 30,000 to utilize telemedicine medical services to comply with the physician requirement for Level IV Trauma Designation. Section 157.125 adds text to comply with this legislation in the basic Level IV trauma facility criteria in the Figure for §157.125(y).

H.B. 1418 amended Texas Health and Safety Code, §773.0551, by requiring emergency medical services personnel receive up-to-date information about their immunization status during certification or recertification and also information about certain risks posed when responding to an emergency.

During Hurricane Harvey, lack of clarity for first responders concerning their vaccine history caused certain individuals to either duplicate previous vaccinations or be required to wait for vaccinations due to high demand for the vaccines in the disaster-declared region. Sections 157.33(l) and 157.34(d) add the applicant's immunization history, which require DSHS to provide the emergency medical services personnel their immunization status during certification or recertification. The amendments add that DSHS will provide information about the risks of exposure to certain vaccine preventable diseases when responding to an emergency that an immunization may prevent. The rule references in §157.33 and §157.34 are also revised to reflect the addition of new text.

COMMENTS

The 31-day comment period ended October 21, 2019.

During this period, DSHS did not receive any comments regarding the proposed rules.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY

The amendments are authorized by Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 773; and Texas Government Code §531.0055, which provides the Executive Commissioner of HHSC shall adopt rules for the operation and provision of services by the health and human services system, including by DSHS. Under Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 1001, the DSHS Commissioner is authorized to assist the Executive Commissioner in the development of rules relating to the matters within DSHS jurisdiction.