SECTION 133.223. General Requirements

(a) The Office of EMS/Trauma Systems (office) shall recommend to the Executive Commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission (executive commissioner) the designation of an applicant/healthcare facility as a Center of Excellence for Fetal Diagnosis and Therapy for each location of a facility, which the office deems appropriate.

(b) A healthcare facility is defined under this subchapter as a single location where inpatients receive hospital services or each location if there are multiple buildings where inpatients receive hospital services and are covered under a single hospital license.

(c) Each location shall be considered separately for designation and the office will determine the designation for that location, based on, but not limited to, the location's own resources and level of care capabilities; Perinatal Care Region (PCR) capabilities; and compliance with Chapter 133 of this title, (relating to Hospital Licensing).

(d) A CEFDT shall:

(1) provide the highest level of maternal, fetal, and neonatal care for patients with the least to most complex fetal conditions;

(2) provide at a minimum, all fetal therapies and interventions proven effective antenatally based on level I evidence-based metrics;

(3) have skilled medical staff and personnel with documented training, competencies and continuing education specific for the patient population served;

(4) offer fetal diagnosis and therapy through an extensive multi-specialty clinical program that is affiliated and collaborates extensively with a medical school in this state;

(5) demonstrate a significant commitment to research in and advancing the field of fetal diagnosis and therapy;

(6) offer advanced training programs in fetal diagnosis and therapy;

(7) provide appropriate long-term monitoring and follow-up care for patients, including measuring short-term and long-term patient diagnostic and therapeutic outcomes;

(8) provide outreach and education to maternal and/or neonatal designated facilities, including the Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement (QAPI) process;

(9) hold current verification for maternal-fetal surgical care from an organization approved by the department;

(10) hold current verification from the American College of Surgeons as a Level I Children's Surgery Center;

(11) be designated by the department as a Level IV Maternal Level of Care facility;

(12) be designated by the department as a Level IV Neonatal Level of Care facility;

(13) participate in CEFDT meetings twice a year as determined by the department:

(A) for the purposes of mutual collaboration;

(B) to discuss inclusion criteria for fetal intervention and biopsychosocial outcome variables both short-term and long-term; and

(C) to participate in a multi-disciplinary performance improvement process; and

(14) have facility specific treatment outcomes vetted and approved by the department for public posting on the facility website for public access and/or redirect the public to the facility specific outcomes posted on the department's website.

(e) Facilities seeking designation shall be surveyed through an organization approved by the office to verify that the facility is meeting office-approved relevant requirements. The facility shall bear the cost of the survey.

Source Note: The provisions of this §133.223 adopted to be effective March 1, 2018, 43 TexReg 887