Texas State Board of Acupuncture Examiners

Final Results of Last Sunset Review

Senate Bill 419 continued the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners (Medical Board), Texas State Board of Physician Assistant Examiners, and the Texas State Board of Acupuncture Examiners for 12 years and contained the Sunset Commission’s recommendations to increase the boards’ ability to protect the public and provide fairer, more efficient processes for license holders.  The bill improved stakeholder input into the boards’ rulemaking process, built on legislative directives to further strengthen the boards’ enforcement efforts, clarified the Medical Board’s use of peer review documents, authorized the Medical Board to issue several new types of licenses, established grounds for disciplinary action for physicians who perform certain abortions, and enhanced the Acupuncture Board’s role as a regulatory board.  Senate Bill 419 also changed the name of the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners and the Texas State Board of Physician Assistant Examiners to the Texas Medical Board and the Texas Physician Assistant Board, respectively.  The list below summarizes the major provisions of Senate Bill 419.

• Requires the Boards to provide stakeholders with meaningful opportunities for input into the rulemaking process.
• Updates the Boards’ licensing process to ensure fair, consistent decisions.
• Provides further improvements to the Medical, Physician Assistant, and Acupuncture Boards’ investigation processes to better protect the public.
• Defines clear roles, responsibilities, and authority for the Boards’ informal hearings process.
• Clarifies language regarding the use and confidentiality of peer review documents in hearings by the Medical Board and the State Office of Administrative Hearings.
• Updates the Boards’ private rehabilitation order to ensure adequate public protection.
• Requires physicians who use moderate sedation in outpatient settings to comply with the Medical Board’s safety requirements.
• Updates the authority for regulating acupuncture to ensure efficiency and protect the public.
• Grants the Medical Board flexibility in how it regulates the delegation of prescription authority by physicians.
• Conforms key elements of the Boards’ licensing and regulatory functions to commonly applied licensing practices.
• Prohibits Medical Board members from using information obtained through their duties for personal gain.
• Requires the Medical Board to publish updated or corrected disciplinary actions.
• Clarifies the Boards’ authority to modify a proposal for decision received from the State Office of Administrative Hearings.
• Continues the Medical Board for 12 years and eliminates the separate Sunset dates for the Physician Assistant and Acupuncture Boards.
• Authorizes the Medical Board to issue a faculty temporary license.
• Directs the Medical Board to consider if a violation directly relates to patient care when determining a sanction.
• Requires the Medical Board to document reasons for rejecting recommendations from informal hearings panels.
• Requires a joint interim study on the medical peer review process.
• Restricts a physician from performing a third-trimester abortion, except under certain circumstances.
• Requires a physician to get parental consent before performing an abortion on a minor