Sec. 95.053. DIABETES MELLITUS REGISTRY

(a) The department, in coordination with participating public health districts, shall create and maintain an electronic diabetes mellitus registry to track the glycosylated hemoglobin level of each person who has a laboratory test to determine that level performed at a clinical laboratory in the participating district.

(b) A public health district may participate in the diabetes mellitus registry. A public health district that participates in the registry is solely responsible for the costs of establishing and administering the program in that district.

(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), a physician practicing in a participating public health district who, on or after November 1, 2011, orders a glycosylated hemoglobin test for a patient shall submit to a clinical laboratory located in the participating public health district the diagnosis codes of a patient along with the patient's sample. The clinical laboratory shall submit to the district for a patient whose diagnosis codes were submitted with the patient's sample the results of the patient's glycosylated hemoglobin test along with the diagnosis codes provided by the physician for that patient.

(d) A physician who orders a glycosylated hemoglobin test for a patient must provide the patient with a form developed by the department that allows the patient to opt out of having the patient's information included in the registry. If the patient opts out by signing the form, the physician:

(1) shall keep the form in the patient's medical records; and

(2) may not submit to the clinical laboratory the patient's diagnosis codes along with the patient's sample.

(e) The participating public health districts shall:

(1) compile results submitted under Subsection (c) in order to track:

(A) the prevalence of diabetes mellitus among people tested in the district;

(B) the level of diabetic control for the patients with diabetes mellitus in each demographic group;

(C) the trends of new diagnoses of diabetes mellitus in the district; and

(D) the health care costs associated with diabetes mellitus and glycosylated hemoglobin testing; and

(2) provide the department with de-identified aggregate data.

(f) The department and participating public health districts shall promote discussion and public information programs regarding diabetes mellitus.

Added by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 392 , Sec. 4, eff. September 1, 2011.