The committee met to take up new and pending business. This report focuses only on the bills listed below.
Pending Business
SB 1582 – Van Taylor, Relating to the designation of certain substances as hazardous controlled substances.
- New committee substitute adopted; went from 8 criteria to three for DSHS mandatory consideration to determine substance prohibited; lines up with FDA requirement
- Voted favorably
- Sent to local calendar
SB 1583 – Van Taylor, Relating to classifying synthetic cannabinoid or cathinone as a Schedule I controlled substance under the Texas Controlled Substances Act.
- Committee substitute adopted
- Voted favorably
- Sent to local calendar
SB 848 – Estes, Relating to the regulation of medical radiologic technology.
- Committee substitute adopted
- Voted favorably
- Sent to local calendar
SB 542 – Kolkhorst, Relating to the prescription and pharmaceutical substitution of biological products.
- HB 751 – Zerwas, laid out in lieu of SB 542
- Very similar to senate bill
- Replaced term practitioners with the singular; plural would have directed to any group rather than prescribing physician
- Adjusted language to ensure only relevant information is transmitted
- Ensures notification can be done through standard processes
- Voted favorably
- Sent to local calendar
New Business
SB 1813 – Kolkhorst, Relating to procedures for complaints filed with the Texas Medical Board against physicians.
- Gives the physician a right to see the complaint filed against them
- Would provide board to deliver copies of medical expert report along with name of each physician
- Designed to provide a physician with the full knowledge of the measure and source of charges against them
- TMA will probably not be for the bill
- Campbell noted doctors need to know what is coming against them in order to be bale to defend themselves
Mary Robinson, Texas Medical Board
- Schwertner asked what other licensed professionals are allowed complete disclosure of accounts filed against them
- Confidential are nursing, pharmacy, dental and medicine; may not have confidentiality in veterinary board, funeral commission, podiatry
- Kolkhorst asked if someone inside the Texas Medical Board can file a complaint against a doctor
- Yes; in situations where a person gives testimony a physician would know who filed the complaint
- Kolkhorst asked what is done about frivolous complaints
- Have seen that before at TMB; when TMB becomes aware of that they send a letter noting that all additional complaints will be considered non-jurisdictional; physicians aren’t notified of future complaints
- Kolkhorst noted that currently, the board notifies the physician that compliant has been filed and the nature of the complaint; this bill changes it so that the physician is provided a full copy of the complaint
Steve Hotze, Self
- 4th attempt to eliminate any confidential complaints
- Looking for a simple due process system
Dr. Andrew Schlaffley, Association for American Physicians & Surgeons
- Support
- Gives a doctor the piece of mind to know who filed a complaint against them
- 6th Amendment allows a person to know who their accuser is
- Dental board already does this
- Court system recognizes the need for a level playing field
Lolly Lockhart, Texas Nurses for Patient Safety
- Oppose
- Nobody will be willing to file a complaint against a physician for fear of a subsequent lawsuit
Charles Bailey, Texas Hospital Association
- Oppose
- Nurses who submit complaints against a physician would be subject to harassment and prosecution
- If the complaint is ultimately used as evidence against a physician it then becomes public information
- Not limited due process currently
Dr. Arlo Weltge, Texas Medical Association
- Oppose
- Less credible claims are likely to be filed
- Disclosing reviewers can be a problem because good physicians will not step forward
Bill left pending
SB 588 – Huffman, Relating to the dispensing of aesthetic pharmaceuticals by physicians and therapeutic optometrists.
- Committee substitute laid out
- Some pharmaceuticals are more safely and effectively dispensed when a physician can explain and show the patient how to apply them; such as topicals and ointments
- Texas patients have more limited treatment options; generally Texas law prevents physician dispensing
- There are a few exceptions such as for dangerous drugs in rural communities and for samples
- The bill allows physicians to dispense aesthetic pharmaceuticals; requires a prescriptions; prescribed for the enhancement of an individual’s appearance
- Committee substitute removes therapeutic optometrists so that only physicians are allowed to dispense
- Taylor likes the legislation and would like to see more legislation in this area; improves quality of care
- Campbell added her support; likes the substitute
- Zaffirini asked about a similar Van de Putte bill in the past and asked why pharmacists were against it; Van de Putte was a pharmacist
- Takes customers out of the pharmacy; probably a financial issue
- Huffman noted the bill has been vetoed in the past
Dr. Renee Snyder, Self
- Support
- A physician needs to oversee the use of hydroquinone
- Pharmacists do not study as much on topical medications as dermatologists do
Dr. James Allred, UT Dell Medical School
- Support
- These medications are extremely safe
- Dermatologists study the use of creams and ointments all the time
- Can help dermatologists practice cost conscious care by knowing what prices are
James Cullington, Self
- Support
- It is very instructive for physicians and dermatologists to be able to dispense these drugs directly to their patients
Mark Newberry, Alliance of Independent Pharmacists
- Oppose
- Allows dangerous drugs to escape the oversight of the pharmacy board
- Could cause health risks because physicians may prescribe without knowing a patient’s drug list
- Don’t want to increase the scope of practice under the guise of increased access
Audra Conway, Alliance of Independent Pharmacists
- Oppose
- Doctors are looking for new revenue streams
- This creates a conflict of interest
- This is a vendor drug bill; drugs have been marked up by 300% when sold directly to physicians
- Not all of these drugs are as safe as they are being made out to be
Carol Hardin Oliver, Pharmacist
- Oppose
- Taking away Pharmacy Board oversight
- Last year the agency denied proposals such as this
- This process needs the second check of a second set of highly trained eyes
Brad Shields, Texas Federation of Drug Stores
- Oppose
- There is a reason Texas laws state that doctors should prescribe and pharmacists should dispense; it removes profit motive from the prescribing process
- This is not about access
- One of the supporters of this bill has a calculator to show physicians how much money they can make if this bill passes
Bill left pending