(a) In this section, “health care provider” includes a physician.
(b) The executive commissioner shall ensure that:
(1) all information systems available for the commission or a health and human services agency to use in sending protected health information to a health care provider or receiving protected health information from a health care provider, and for which planning or procurement begins on or after September 1, 2015, are capable of sending or receiving the information in accordance with the applicable data exchange standards developed by the appropriate standards development organization accredited by the American National Standards Institute;
(2) if national data exchange standards do not exist for a system described by Subdivision (1), the commission makes every effort to ensure that the system is interoperable with the national standards for electronic health record systems; and
(3) the commission and each health and human services agency establish an interoperability standards plan for all information systems that exchange protected health information with health care providers.

(c) Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year, the executive commissioner shall report to the governor and the Legislative Budget Board on the commission’s and the health and human services agencies’ measurable progress in ensuring that the information systems described by Subsection (b) are interoperable with one another and meet the appropriate standards specified by that subsection. The report must include an assessment of the progress made in achieving commission goals related to the exchange of health information, including facilitating care coordination among the agencies, ensuring quality improvement, and realizing cost savings.

Text of section effective on April 01, 2025