The hospital district board may hire or contract for physicians, dentists, and other providers, but it cannot control the practice of medicine or dentistry. The medical executive committee must adopt and enforce policies on independent medical judgment, conflicts of interest, and related governance matters.
Sec. 281.0285. EL PASO COUNTY HOSPITAL DISTRICT; EMPLOYMENT OF PHYSICIANS, DENTISTS, AND OTHER HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS. (a) The board of the El Paso County Hospital District may appoint, contract for, or employ physicians, dentists, and other health care providers as the board considers necessary for the efficient operation of the district. (b) The term of an employment contract entered into under this section may not exceed four years. (c) This section may not be construed as authorizing the board of the El Paso County Hospital District to supervise or control the practice of medicine as prohibited by Subtitle B, Title 3, Occupations Code, or to supervise or control the practice of dentistry as prohibited by Subtitle D, Title 3, Occupations Code. (d) The authority granted to the board of the El Paso County Hospital District under Subsection (a) to employ physicians shall apply as necessary for the district to fulfill the district's statutory mandate to provide medical care for the indigent and needy residents of the district as provided by Section 281.046. (e) The medical executive committee of the El Paso County Hospital District, in accordance with the bylaws adopted by the board of the El Paso County Hospital District, shall adopt, maintain, and enforce policies to ensure that a physician employed by the district exercises the physician's independent medical judgment in providing care to patients. (f) The policies adopted by the medical executive committee under this section must include: (1) policies relating to: (A) governance of the medical executive committee; (B) credentialing; (C) quality assurance; (D) utilization review; (E) peer review; (F) medical decision-making; and (G) due process; and (2) rules requiring the disclosure of financial conflicts of interest by a member of the medical executive committee. (g) The medical executive committee and the board of the El Paso County Hospital District shall jointly develop and implement a conflict management process to resolve any conflict between the policies adopted under this section and a policy of the El Paso County Hospital District. (h) A member of the medical executive committee who is a physician shall provide biennially to the chair of the medical executive committee a signed, verified statement indicating that the committee member: (1) is licensed by the Texas Medical Board; (2) will exercise independent medical judgment in all medical executive committee matters, including matters relating to: (A) credentialing; (B) quality assurance; (C) utilization review; (D) peer review; (E) medical decision-making; and (F) due process; (3) will exercise the committee member's best efforts to ensure compliance with the policies that are adopted or established by the medical executive committee; and (4) will report immediately to the Texas Medical Board any action or event that the committee member reasonably and in good faith believes constitutes a compromise of the independent medical judgment of a physician in caring for a patient. (i) For all matters relating to the practice of medicine, each physician employed by the El Paso County Hospital District shall ultimately report to the chair of the medical executive committee for the district. Added by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 417 (S.B. 860), Sec. 1, eff. June 17, 2011.