Amends TCA Title 4; Title 56; Title 63 and Title 68.

This bill creates the health outcomes review board within the department of health. The stated purposes of the board are to annually review and report on data on health outcomes, including illnesses, treatments, and causes of death in this state; and facilitate adoption of solutions that will improve health outcomes in this state. The board will be composed of a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 19 members, consisting of the following: (A) The commissioner of health, or the commissioner's designee; (B) The commissioner of mental health and substance abuse services, or the commissioner's designee; (C) The commissioner of intellectual and developmental disabilities, or the commissioner's designee; (D) The commissioner of commerce and insurance, or the commissioner's designee; (E) The director of TennCare, or the director's designee; (F) Two representatives of professional associations that represent healthcare providers or healthcare facilities in this state, appointed by the commissioner of health; (G) Two representatives of nonprofit entities that focus on issues of health equity, appointed by the commissioner of health; (H) Three representatives, each from a different grand division in this state, from communities impacted by inequitable health outcomes, appointed by the commissioner of health; and (I) Not less than three nor more than seven residents of this state who are employed as healthcare providers or who are employed in the field of public health or health-related research, appointed by the commissioner of health. Board members described in (F)-(I) will serve without compensation, but are eligible for reimbursement for travel expenses. This bill provides for the staggering of initial terms for one to three years, and then terms of three years for all members. The commissioner of health, or the commissioner's designee, will serve as chair of the review board. The board will meet pursuant to a schedule that is established during the first board meeting, with a minimum of four scheduled meetings to occur each calendar year. The board may additionally meet at the call of the chair. This bill authorizes the board to access relevant national or publicly available data, and requires the department of health to provide the board with access to de-identified data sets collected by the department. This bill sets out in detail requirements for the content and use of such data sets, including a requirement that all personally identifying information be redacted. This bill requires board members to sign a confidentiality agreement regarding personally identifying information that is inadvertently disclosed to the board. A board member who knowingly violates the confidentiality agreement commits a Class C misdemeanor. Under this bill, board members will not be subject to subpoena in a civil, criminal, or administrative proceeding regarding the information presented in or opinions formed as a result of a meeting or communication of the board. However, this provision does not prohibit a board member from testifying about information or opinions obtained independently of participation on the board or that are public information. Similarly, notes, statements, medical records, reports, communications, and memoranda that contain, or may contain, patient information will not be subject to subpoena, discovery, or introduction into evidence in any civil, criminal, or administrative proceeding, unless the subpoena is directed to a source that is not affiliated with the board. This bill requires the board to: (1) Provide recommendations to the department for clear and effective guidelines on data collection for all healthcare facilities in this state; (2) Review illness and death incidents in this state using the de-identified data sets provided by the department, or obtained from any other lawful source of relevant information; (3) Review research that substantiates the connections between social determinants of health before, during, and after hospital treatment; (4) Outline trends and patterns disaggregated by race, ethnicity, and language relating to illness, death, and treatments in this state; (5) Review comprehensive, nationwide data collection on illness, death, and treatments, including data disaggregated by race, ethnicity, and language; (6) Review information provided by the department on social and environmental risk factors for all people, including, but not limited to, people of color; (7) Review research to identify best practices and effective interventions for improving the quality and safety of health care and compare those to practices currently in use in this state; (8) Review research to identify best practices and effective interventions to address pre-disease pathways of adverse health and compare those to practices currently in use in this state; (9) Review research to identify effective interventions for addressing disparities in the social determinants of health; (10) Serve as a link with equitable health outcomes review teams throughout the country and participate in regional or national review team activities; (11) Request input and feedback from interested and affected stakeholders; and (12) Publish an annual report. This bill sets out in detail the required contents of the report. This bill requires the department to make the annual report and all other publications of the board available on the department's public website. On and after one year from the effective date of this bill, an entity that is required to collect health data and report it to the department must include in the patient data collected the following information, using the minimum standards for data collection as outlined by the United States department of health and human services: (1) Race; (2) Ethnicity; (3) Sexual orientation; (4) Gender identity; (5) Language; and (6) Other demographic information the department may require by rule. This bill places the board in the sunset cycle for June 30, 2024.