HEALTH ORGANIZATION POLICIES

(a) A health organization certified under Section 162.001(b) shall adopt, maintain, and enforce policies to ensure that a physician employed by the health organization exercises independent medical judgment when providing care to patients. (b) The policies adopted under this section must include policies relating to: (1) credentialing; (2) quality assurance; (3) utilization review; and (4) peer review. (c) The policies adopted under this section, including any amendments to the policies, must be developed by the board of directors or board of trustees, as applicable, of the health organization and approved by an affirmative vote. (d) The policies of the health organization must be drafted and interpreted in a manner that reserves the sole authority to engage in the practice of medicine to a physician participating in the health organization, regardless of the physician's employment status with the health organization.