Texas Patient Advocacy Board Act

Petition for the Creation of an Independent Texas Patient Advocacy Board

 Introduction

We, the undersigned, call upon the Texas Legislature and the Governor to enact the Texas Patient Advocacy Board Act, establishing an Independent Texas Patient Advocacy Board (TPAB) to protect patients from harmful medical decisions and restore accountability in Texas healthcare.

This petition is submitted in memory of Dov Fischman, a heart transplant recipient who remained stable for over a decade on the same immunosuppressive regimen. His medication was changed to a black box warning drug used off-label. His family questioned the new treatment approach, asked for a medication change and reported side effects, but received no response or resolution. No monitoring was put into place, and no guidelines were shared. The family was not provided with a medically justified reason for the switch. As his condition declined, the family reached out to patient assistance and hospital administration, but no one had the authority to stop the progression or return him to his previous stable regimen. He passed away shortly after from complications the family believes were related to the treatment change.

Under current Texas law, medical accountability is extremely limited. Texas's medical malpractice laws make it virtually impossible to hold doctors accountable for harmful decisions, meaning reckless behavior can continue without recourse. Families have no mechanism to request independent review or intervention in real-time, even when a patient's condition is rapidly deteriorating. State agencies often lack authority to intervene in active medical decisions, leaving patients and families with nowhere to turn.

 Legislative Request

We petition the Texas Legislature to:

1. Create an Independent Texas Patient Advocacy Board with power to:

• Investigate complaints about potentially harmful medical decisions of any kind
• Review cases where treatment decisions lack clear medical justification or adequate patient consent
• Issue binding stop orders when credible evidence of patient endangerment exists
• Enforce disciplinary actions against physicians or hospitals engaged in unsafe practices
• Review and investigate inadequate medical record documentation, including failures to properly record patient concerns, family communications, or treatment rationales
• Investigate disputed causes of death when families provide evidence that official records may be inaccurate or incomplete
• Enforce compliance with informed consent requirements, ensuring patients receive clear explanations of hospital responsibilities, treatment risks, monitoring protocols, and their rights
• Require public reporting of adverse outcomes and systemic risks
• Operate independently of the Texas Medical Board

2. Ensure patient-focused composition:

• A majority of Board members must be patient advocates, medical ethicists, and public representatives—not primarily physicians.

3. Guarantee transparency through:

• public reporting of investigations,
• findings, and outcomes.

Sign This Petition

Demand the Texas Legislature create the Independent Texas Patient Advocacy Board.

By signing, you're telling lawmakers that:

• Patients deserve independent advocates who can intervene when doctors make dangerous decisions
• Families must have somewhere to turn when hospitals won't listen
• Texas medical accountability laws must be reformed now

Your signature can prevent another family from experiencing this tragedy. Sign today.