Texas Health And Safety Code Title 4, Chapter 241 - Hospitals

SUBCHAPTER A GENERAL PROVISIONS

• Texas Section 241.001 - Short Title
  This chapter may be cited as the Texas Hospital Licensing Law. Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
• Texas Section 241.002 - Purpose
  The purpose of this chapter is to protect and promote the public health and welfare by providing for the development, establishment, and enforcement of certain...
• Texas Section 241.003 - Definitions
  In this chapter: (1) "Advanced practice nurse" means a registered nurse recognized as an advanced practice nurse by the Texas Board of Nursing. (2) "Commission"...
• Texas Section 241.004 - Exemptions
  This chapter does not apply to a facility: (1) licensed under Chapter 242 or 577; (2) maintained or operated by the federal government or an...
• Texas Section 241.005 - Employment Of Personnel
  The department may employ stenographers, inspectors, and other necessary assistants in carrying out the provisions of this chapter. Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec....
• Texas Section 241.006 - Coordination Of Signage Requirements Imposed By State Agencies
  (a) The department is authorized to review current and proposed state rules, including department rules and rules of other state agencies, that mandate that a...
• Texas Section 241.007 - Compliance With Certain Requirements Regarding Sonogram Before Abortion
  A hospital shall comply with Subchapter B, Chapter 171. Added by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 73 (H.B. 15), Sec. 6, eff. September 1,
• Texas Section 241.008 - Induced Deliveries Or Cesarean Sections Before 39th Week
  A hospital that provides obstetrical services shall collaborate with physicians providing services at the hospital to develop quality initiatives to reduce the number of elective...
• Texas Section 241.009 - Photo Identification Badge Required
  (a) In this section, "health care provider" means a person who provides health care services at a hospital as a physician, as an employee of...

SUBCHAPTER B HOSPITAL LICENSES

• Texas Section 241.010 - Disposition Of Fetal Remains
  (a) A hospital shall release the remains of an unintended, intrauterine fetal death on the request of a parent of the unborn child, in a...
• Texas Section 241.021 - License Required
  A person or governmental unit, acting severally or jointly with any other person or governmental unit, may not establish, conduct, or maintain a hospital in...
• Texas Section 241.022 - License Application
  (a) An application for a license must be made to the department on a form provided by the department. (b) The application must contain: (1)...
• Texas Section 241.023 - Issuance Of License
  (a) On receiving a license application and the license fee, the department shall issue a license if it finds that the applicant and the hospital...
• Texas Section 241.025 - License Fees
  (a) The department shall charge each hospital a license fee for an initial license or a license renewal. (b) The executive commissioner by rule shall...
• Texas Section 241.026 - Rules And Minimum Standards
  (a) The executive commissioner shall adopt rules and the department shall enforce the rules to further the purposes of this chapter. The rules at a...
• Texas Section 241.0262 - Circulating Duties For Surgical Services
  Circulating duties in the operating room must be performed by qualified registered nurses. In accordance with approved medical staff policies and procedures, licensed vocational nurses...
• Texas Section 241.0263 - Recommendations Relating To Missing Infants
  (a) The department shall recommend hospital security procedures to: (1) reduce the likelihood of infant patient abduction; and (2) aid in the identification of missing...
• Texas Section 241.0265 - Standards For Care For Mental Health And Chemical Dependency
  (a) The care and treatment of a patient receiving mental health services in a facility licensed by the department under this chapter or Chapter 577...
• Texas Section 241.027 - Patient Transfers
  (a) The executive commissioner shall adopt rules to govern the transfer of patients between hospitals that do not have a transfer agreement and governing services...
• Texas Section 241.028 - Transfer Agreements
  (a) If hospitals execute a transfer agreement that is consistent with the requirements of this section, all patient transfers between the hospitals are governed by...

SUBCHAPTER C ENFORCEMENT

• Texas Section 241.029 - Policies And Procedures Relating To Workplace Safety
  (a) The governing body of a hospital shall adopt policies and procedures related to the work environment for nurses to: (1) improve workplace safety and...
• Texas Section 241.051 - Inspections
  (a) The department may make any inspection, survey, or investigation that it considers necessary. A representative of the department may enter the premises of a...
• Texas Section 241.052 - Compliance With Rules And Standards
  (a) A hospital that is in operation when an applicable rule or minimum standard is adopted under this chapter must be given a reasonable period...
• Texas Section 241.053 - Denial Of Application, Suspension, Revocation, Probation, Or Reissuance Of License
  (a) The department, after providing notice and an opportunity for a hearing to the applicant or license holder, may deny, suspend, or revoke a hospital's...
• Texas Section 241.0531 - Commissioner's Emergency Orders
  (a) Following notice to the hospital and opportunity for hearing, the commissioner or a person designated by the commissioner may issue an emergency order, either...
• Texas Section 241.054 - Violations; Injunctions
  (a) The department shall: (1) notify a hospital of a finding by the department that the hospital is violating or has violated this chapter or...
• Texas Section 241.055 - Civil Penalty
  (a) A hospital shall timely adopt, implement, and enforce a patient transfer policy in accordance with Section 241.027. A hospital may implement patient transfer agreements...
• Texas Section 241.0555 - Additional Requirements: Potentially Preventable Adverse Events
  (a) If the department finds that a hospital has committed a violation that resulted in a potentially preventable adverse event reportable under Chapter 98, the...
• Texas Section 241.056 - Suit By Person Harmed
  (a) A person who is harmed by a violation under Section 241.028 or 241.055 may petition a district court for appropriate injunctive relief. (b) Venue...
• Texas Section 241.057 - Criminal Penalty
  (a) A person commits an offense if the person establishes, conducts, manages, or operates a hospital without a license. (b) An offense under this section...
• Texas Section 241.058 - Minor Violations
  (a) This chapter does not require the commissioner or a designee of the commissioner to report a minor violation for prosecution or the institution of...
• Texas Section 241.0585 - Recovery Of Costs
  If the attorney general brings an action to enforce an administrative penalty assessed under Section 241.058 and the court orders the payment of the penalty,...
• Texas Section 241.059 - Administrative Penalty
  (a) The department may assess an administrative penalty against a hospital that violates this chapter, a rule adopted pursuant to this chapter, a special license...

SUBCHAPTER E STAFF, RECORDS, AND PLAN REVIEWS

• Texas Section 241.060 - Administrative Penalty For Mental Health, Chemical Dependency, Or Rehabilitation Services
  (a) The department may impose an administrative penalty against a person licensed or regulated under this chapter who violates this chapter or a rule or...
• Texas Section 241.101 - Hospital Authority Concerning Medical Staff
  (a) Except as otherwise provided by this section and Section 241.102, this chapter does not change the authority of the governing body of a hospital,...
• Texas Section 241.1015 - Physician Communication And Contracts
  (a) A hospital, whether by contract, by granting or withholding staff privileges, or otherwise, may not restrict a physician's ability to communicate with a patient...
• Texas Section 241.102 - Authorizations And Restrictions In Relation To Physicians And Podiatrists
  (a) This chapter does not authorize a physician or podiatrist to perform medical or podiatric acts that are beyond the scope of the respective license...
• Texas Section 241.103 - Preservation Of Records
  (a) A hospital may authorize the disposal of any medical record on or after the 10th anniversary of the date on which the patient who...
• Texas Section 241.104 - Hospital Plan Reviews
  (a) The executive commissioner by rule shall adopt fees for hospital plan reviews according to a schedule based on the estimated construction costs. (b) The...

SUBCHAPTER F MEDICAL REHABILITATION SERVICES

• Texas Section 241.105 - Hospital Privileges For Advanced Practice Nurses And Physician Assistants
  (a) The governing body of a hospital is authorized to establish policies concerning the granting of clinical privileges to advanced practice nurses and physician assistants,...
• Texas Section 241.121 - Definition
  In this subchapter, "comprehensive medical rehabilitation" means the provision of rehabilitation services that are designed to improve or minimize a person's physical or cognitive disabilities,...
• Texas Section 241.122 - License Required
  Unless a person has a license issued under this chapter, a person other than an individual may not provide inpatient comprehensive medical rehabilitation to a...

SUBCHAPTER G DISCLOSURE OF HEALTH CARE INFORMATION

• Texas Section 241.123 - Rehabilitation Services Standards
  (a) The executive commissioner by rule shall adopt standards for the provision of rehabilitation services by a hospital to ensure the health and safety of...
• Texas Section 241.151 - Definitions
  In this subchapter: (1) "Directory information" means information disclosing the presence of a person who is receiving inpatient, outpatient, or emergency services from a licensed...
• Texas Section 241.152 - Written Authorization For Disclosure Of Health Care Information
  (a) Except as authorized by Section 241.153, a hospital or an agent or employee of a hospital may not disclose health care information about a...
• Texas Section 241.153 - Disclosure Without Written Authorization
  A patient's health care information may be disclosed without the patient's authorization if the disclosure is: (1) directory information, unless the patient has instructed the...
• Texas Section 241.1531 - Exchange Of Inmate's Health Care Information
  Notwithstanding any other law of this state, the health care information of a patient who is a defendant or inmate confined in a facility operated...
• Texas Section 241.154 - Request
  (a) On receipt of a written authorization from a patient or legally authorized representative to examine or copy all or part of the patient's recorded...
• Texas Section 241.155 - Safeguards For Security Of Health Care Information
  A hospital shall adopt and implement reasonable safeguards for the security of all health care information it maintains. Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch....
• Texas Section 241.156 - Patient Remedies
  (a) A patient aggrieved by a violation of this subchapter relating to the unauthorized release of confidential health care information may bring an action for:...
• Texas Section 241.182 - Level Of Care Designations
  (a) The executive commissioner, in accordance with the rules adopted under Section 241.183, shall assign level of care designations to each hospital based on the...
• Texas Section 241.183 - Rules
  (a) The executive commissioner, in consultation with the department, shall adopt rules: (1) establishing the levels of care for neonatal and maternal care to be...
• Texas Section 241.184 - Confidentiality; Privilege
  (a) All information and materials submitted by a hospital to the department under Section 241.183(d) are confidential and: (1) are not subject to disclosure under...
• Texas Section 241.185 - Assignment Of Level Of Care Designation
  (a) The executive commissioner, in consultation with the department, shall assign the appropriate level of care designation to each hospital that meets the minimum standards...
• Texas Section 241.186 - Hospital Not Designated
  A hospital that does not meet the minimum requirements for any level of care designation for neonatal or maternal services: (1) may not receive a...
• Texas Section 241.187 - Perinatal Advisory Council
  (a) In this section, "advisory council" means the Perinatal Advisory Council established under this section. (b) The advisory council consists of 19 members appointed by...
• Texas Section 241.201 - Applicability
  This subchapter applies only to a freestanding emergency medical care facility, as that term is defined by Section 254.001, that is exempt from the licensing...
• Texas Section 241.202 - Advertising
  A facility described by Section 241.201 may not advertise or hold itself out as a medical office, facility, or provider other than an emergency room...

SUBCHAPTER J NOTICE OF FACILITY FEES IN CERTAIN FREESTANDING EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE FACILITIES

• Texas Section 241.204 - Administrative Penalty
  The department may assess an administrative penalty under Section 241.059 against a hospital that violates this subchapter. Added by Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch....
• Texas Section 241.251 - Applicability
  This subchapter applies only to a freestanding emergency medical care facility, as that term is defined by Section 254.001, that is exempt from the licensing...
• Texas Section 241.252 - Notice Of Fees
  (a) In this section, "provider network" has the meaning assigned by Section 1456.001, Insurance Code. (b) A facility described by Section 241.251 shall post notice...

Last modified: September 28, 2016