bill ordering public online profiles for every nurse

The text as introduced · 1,433 words

By: Pierson
H.B. No. 3614

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to nurse profiles and certain information concerning

nurses maintained on the Texas Board of Nursing's Internet website.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 301.1583, Occupations Code, is amended

to read as follows:

Sec. 301.1583. DISCIPLINARY ACTION. (a) The board may

[ shall ] remove a disciplinary action from a nurse's profile [ the

nurse licensure verification page ] on the board's Internet website

if:

(1) the disciplinary action is the only disciplinary

action taken against the nurse;

(2) the disciplinary action was taken by the board for

a violation that is not related to the practice of nursing;

(3) the disciplinary action did not result in the

suspension or revocation of, or the probation of the suspension or

revocation of, the nurse's license;

(4) the disciplinary action does not provide any

indication that continued practice by the nurse may risk harm to a

patient; [ and ]

(5) the nurse has successfully completed the

requirements imposed by the board in the disciplinary order related

to the disciplinary action ; and

(6) at least five years have elapsed since the date the

disciplinary action was taken .

(b) A disciplinary action that is removed from a nurse's

profile [ the nurse licensure verification page ] on the board's

Internet website under Subsection (a) shall be removed from the

public portion of the coordinated licensure information system, as

defined by Section 304.0015 in Article II of the Nurse Licensure

Compact.

SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 301, Occupations Code, is

amended by adding Section 301.1584 to read as follows:

Sec. 301.1584. NURSE PROFILES. (a) The board shall create

a profile of each nurse licensed under this chapter. The profile

must:

(1) include the information required by Subsection

(b); and

(2) be compiled in a format that makes the information

contained in the profile easily available to the public.

(b) Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, a profile

must contain the following information on each nurse:

(1) the name of each board-approved school of nursing

or educational program attended and the dates of graduation;

(2) a description of all board-approved advanced

educational programs attended;

(3) any certification held by the nurse and recognized

by the board;

(4) the number of years the nurse has actively

practiced nursing in:

(A) this state; and

(B) another jurisdiction for which the board may

issue a license under Section 301.259 or 301.260;

(5) the name of each hospital or facility in this state

in which the nurse has privileges;

(6) the nurse's primary practice location;

(7) a description of any conviction for a felony, a

Class A or Class B misdemeanor, or a Class C misdemeanor involving

moral turpitude;

(8) a description of any charges reported to the board

to which the nurse has pleaded no contest, for which the nurse is

the subject of deferred adjudication or pretrial diversion, or in

which sufficient facts of guilt were found and the matter was

continued by a court;

(9) a description of any disciplinary action against

the nurse by the board;

(10) a description of any disciplinary action against

the nurse by a nursing licensing board of another state;

(11) a description of any formal charges against the

nurse initiated and filed under Section 301.458 and the status of

the charge;

(12) a description of any medical malpractice claim

against the nurse, not including a description of any offers by the

nurse or another party to settle the claim, for which the nurse was

found liable, a jury awarded monetary damages to the claimant, and

the award has been determined to be final and not subject to further

appeal; and

(13) for a nurse who prescribes or orders a drug or

device as delegated by a physician under Chapter 157 or other law,

the name and license number of the delegating physician.

(c) On or after the fifth anniversary of the date corrective

action is imposed under Subchapter N, the board may remove from the

profile of the nurse subject to the action any information

regarding the action and any complaint resolved by the action

unless:

(1) the complaint was related to the delivery of

health care; or

(2) more than one corrective action has been imposed

to resolve complaints alleging the same violation by the nurse,

including a complaint not related to the delivery of health care.

(d) Information required to be included under Subsection

(b) that is not maintained by the board in the ordinary course of

the board's duties shall be obtained from a nurse at the time the

nurse renews the nurse's license. In requesting information from

the nurse, the board shall:

(1) inform the nurse that compliance with the request

for information is mandatory;

(2) inform the nurse of the date the information will

be made available to the public; and

(3) instruct the nurse about the requirements under

Subsection (f) for the nurse to obtain a copy of the nurse's profile

to make corrections.

(e) This section does not:

(1) prevent the board from providing explanatory

information regarding the significance of categories in which

malpractice settlements are reported; or

(2) require the board to disclose confidential

settlement information.

(f) The board shall provide a nurse with a copy of the

nurse's profile if the nurse requests a copy at the time the nurse

renews the nurse's license. If a copy is requested by a nurse, the

board shall provide the nurse one month from the date the copy is

provided to the nurse to correct factual errors in the nurse's

profile.

(g) Except as otherwise provided by this section, the board

shall update the information contained in a nurse's profile

annually. The board shall adopt a form that allows a nurse to

update information contained in a nurse's profile. The form shall

be made available on the Internet and in other formats as prescribed

by board rule. The board may adopt rules concerning the type and

content of additional information that may be included in a nurse's

profile.

(h) In addition to the information required by Subsection

(b) and except as otherwise provided by this section, a profile must

be updated to contain the text of a formal charge filed under

Section 301.458 against the nurse or of a board order related to the

formal charge not later than the 10th business day after the date

the charge is filed.

(i) Not later than the 10th business day after the date the

board issues a final order related to a formal charge filed under

Section 301.458 against a nurse, the board shall:

(1) remove from the nurse's profile any record of the

formal charge or any prior disciplinary action related to the

formal charge; and

(2) update the nurse's profile to contain the board's

final order.

(j) Information included in a nurse's profile under

Subsections (b), (h), and (i) may not include any patient

identifying information.

(k) Not later than the 10th business day after the date the

board dismisses a formal charge against a nurse required to be

included in the nurse's profile under Subsection (b)(11) or (h) as

baseless, unfounded, or not supported by sufficient evidence that a

violation occurred, or resolves the charge and takes no action

against the nurse's license as a result of the charge, the board

shall:

(1) remove from the nurse's profile any record of the

formal charge or any prior disciplinary action related to the

formal charge; and

(2) update the nurse's profile to contain the board's

final order dismissing or resolving the charge.

(l) The board shall run a continuous query on the National

Practitioner Data Bank and, not later than the 10th working day

after the date any new information is found, update a nurse's

profile to:

(1) include any new report or correction to a report of

disciplinary action against the nurse; and

(2) remove any report of disciplinary action against

the nurse that has been dismissed or otherwise voided.

(m) Information included in a nurse's profile under

Subsection (l) may not include any patient identifying information

or information that may reasonably be used to identify any person or

entity other than the nurse.

(n) The board shall adopt rules as necessary to implement

this section.

SECTION 3. Not later than January 1, 2026, the Texas Board

of Nursing shall adopt rules necessary to implement Section

301.1583, Occupations Code, as amended by this Act, and Section

301.1584, Occupations Code, as added by this Act.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.