A health care collaborative may provide services by contract, but it cannot block participating physicians or providers from joining another collaborative or use noncompete terms for that purpose.
Sec. 848.101. PROVIDING OR ARRANGING FOR SERVICES. (a) A health care collaborative may provide or arrange for health care services through contracts with physicians and health care providers or with entities contracting on behalf of participating physicians and health care providers. (b) A health care collaborative may not prohibit a physician or other health care provider, as a condition of participating in the health care collaborative, from participating in another health care collaborative. (c) A health care collaborative may not use a covenant not to compete to prohibit a physician from providing medical services or participating in another health care collaborative in the same service area. (d) Except as provided by Subsection (f), on written consent of a patient who was treated by a physician participating in a health care collaborative, the health care collaborative shall provide the physician with the medical records of the patient, regardless of whether the physician is participating in the health care collaborative at the time the request for the records is made. (e) Records provided under Subsection (d) shall be made available to the physician in the format in which the records are maintained by the health care collaborative. The health care collaborative may charge the physician a fee for copies of the records, as established by the Texas Medical Board. (f) If a physician requests a patient's records from a health care collaborative under Subsection (d) for the purpose of providing emergency treatment to the patient: (1) the health care collaborative may not charge a fee to the physician under Subsection (e); and (2) the health care collaborative shall provide the records to the physician regardless of whether the patient has provided written consent. Added by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., 1st C.S., Ch. 7 (S.B. 7), Sec. 4.01, eff. September 28, 2011.