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                                                                  S.B. No. 45 




AN ACT

relating to the establishment of an advisory committee on health 
care information technology.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 104, Health and Safety 
Code, is amended by adding Section 104.0156 to read as follows:
	Sec. 104.0156.  HEALTH CARE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ADVISORY 
COMMITTEE.  (a)  The statewide health coordinating council shall 
form an advisory committee on health care information technology.  
The committee must include representatives of interested groups, 
including the academic community, health plans, pharmacies, and 
associations of physicians, hospitals, and nurses.  The committee 
must also include at least one member with at least 10 years of 
experience in the health care information technology industry.
	(b)  The advisory committee shall develop a long-range plan 
for health care information technology, including the use of 
electronic medical records, computerized clinical support systems, 
computerized physician order entry, regional data sharing 
interchanges for health care information, and other methods of 
incorporating information technology in pursuit of greater 
cost-effectiveness and better patient outcomes in health care.  In 
developing the long-range plan, the advisory committee shall study 
the effect of health care information technology on price 
disparities in insurance coverage for residents of this state.
	(c)  The advisory committee shall elect a presiding officer.            
	(d)  Members of the advisory committee serve without 
compensation but are entitled to reimbursement for the members' 
travel expenses as provided by Chapter 660, Government Code, and 
the General Appropriations Act.
	(e)  Chapter 2110, Government Code, does not apply to the 
size, composition, or duration of the advisory committee.
	(f)  Meetings of the advisory committee under this section 
are subject to Chapter 551, Government Code.
	SECTION 2.  Subsections (e) and (f), Section 104.022, Health 
and Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
	(e)  The state health plan shall be developed and used in 
accordance with applicable state and federal law.  The plan must 
identify:
		(1)  major statewide health concerns;                                         
		(2)  the availability and use of current health 
resources of the state, including resources associated with 
information technology and state-supported institutions of higher 
education; and
		(3)  future health service, information technology,
and facility needs of the state.
	(f)  The state health plan must:                                               
		(1)  propose strategies for the correction of major 
deficiencies in the service delivery system;
		(2)  propose strategies for incorporating information 
technology in the service delivery system;
		(3)  propose strategies for involving state-supported 
institutions of higher education in providing health services and 
for coordinating those efforts with health and human services 
agencies in order to close gaps in services; and
		(4) [(3)]  provide direction for the state's 
legislative and executive decision-making processes to implement 
the strategies proposed by the plan.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.                           





______________________________    ______________________________
President of the Senate             Speaker of the House
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 45 passed the Senate on 
April 14, 2005, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0; and that 
the Senate concurred in House amendments on May 27, 2005, by the 
following vote:  Yeas 29, Nays 0.




______________________________ 
   Secretary of the Senate             
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 45 passed the House, with 
amendments, on May 25, 2005, by a non-record vote.




______________________________ 
   Chief Clerk of the House            



Approved:


______________________________ 
            Date



______________________________ 
          Governor