The Honorable Jane Nelson
Chair, Senate Health and Human Services Committee
P.O. Box 12068 – Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711
Dear Madame Chair:
The Texas Hospital Association appreciated the opportunity to testify in support of the committee substitute for Senate Bill 288 on Tuesday. The substitute bill more closely tracks the recommendations of the Advisory Panel on Health-care Associated Infections for public reporting related to infections in hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers.
During testimony, representatives of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association suggested modification of the confidentiality provisions to allow expansion of the use of the state’s infection reports. TTLA would like to use these reports to establish a standard of care for use in civil lawsuits against hospitals. THA strongly opposes this attempt to weaken the tort reform measures passed in 2003. The purpose of infection reporting is to help consumers select providers and to give providers data to improve quality of patient care.
To achieve these worthwhile goals, THA strongly encourages the committee to reconsider the Texas Department of State Health Services’ request for additional resources. The fiscal note on a similar bill in the House is approximately $2.5 million for the biennium. THA agrees that the agency cannot implement an effective infection reporting program with available resources.
The experience with the Texas Health Care Information Collection demonstrates that without adequate resources, the result is disappointing at best. Infection data is clinical and more complex that financial charge data. If Texas hospitals are willing to invest in the technology and human resources required to comply with the proposed infection reporting requirements, then the state should ensure that it has adequate resources to collect, analyze and publish the data so that useful information results. In this case, “something” is not better than “nothing” – a wrong implication could cause a patient to made a poor choice and have an undesirable outcome.
Please continue to maintain the integrity of this legislation and support adequate funding for its implementation.
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Sincerely,
Dan Stultz, M.D., FACP, FACHE cc: Members, Senate Health and Human Services Committee |
TEXAS HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION
Post Office Box 15587 • Austin, Texas 78761-5587 • 512/465-1000