Sec. 81.0445.  PROVISION OF INFORMATION TO PUBLIC DURING PUBLIC HEALTH DISASTER.  (a)  This section applies only to information related to a reportable disease for which a public health disaster is declared.
(b)  The department and each trauma service area regional advisory council shall make publicly available in accordance with Subsection (c) the information a hospital is required to report to the department and regional advisory council under Section 81.0444.  The department and each regional advisory council shall ensure that information released under this subsection does not contain any personally identifiable information.
(c)  The department shall collaborate and coordinate with local health departments to ensure that all information covering a reporting period is released to the public in a timely manner.
(d)  The department shall develop and publish on its Internet website monthly compliance reports for laboratories reporting during a public health disaster.  Each compliance report, at a minimum, must include:
(1)  the number of laboratory reports the department receives by electronic data transmission;
(2)  the number of incomplete information fields in the laboratory reports;
(3)  the electronic format each laboratory used in submitting information;
(4)  the number of coding errors in the laboratory reports; and
(5)  the average length of time from the date the specimen is collected to the date the department receives the corresponding laboratory report.
(e)  The department shall develop and publish on its Internet website monthly compliance reports for hospitals reporting during a public health disaster.  Each compliance report, at a minimum, must include:
(1)  the number of incomplete information fields in the hospital reports;
(2)  the number of reports a hospital failed to submit in a timely manner; and
(3)  the number of identified inaccuracies in the information submitted.
Added by Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 864 (S.B. 969), Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2021.