The following words and terms, when used in these sections, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

1. (1) Board--The Texas Board of Health.
2. (2) Case--A person in whom an injury is diagnosed by a physician, medical examiner, or justice of the peace, based upon clinical evaluation, interpretation of laboratory and/or roentgenographic findings, and an appropriate exposure history.
3. (3) Commissioner--The commissioner of the Texas Department of Health.
4. (4) Department--The Texas Department of Health, 1100 West 49th Street, Austin, Texas 78756-3180.
5. (5) Director--The director of the Texas Department of Health, who is the commissioner.
6. (6) Health authority--A physician designated to administer state and local laws relating to public health under the Local Public Health Reorganization Act, Health and Safety Code, Chapter 121. The health authority, for purposes of these sections, may be the chief administrative officer of a public health district or a local health department, or the physician who is to administer state and local laws relating to public health.
7. (7) Health care entity--A health care entity that is capable of treating an injured person. Health care entities include, but are not limited to, emergency medical service providers, hospitals, and rehabilitation facilities.
8. (8) Injury--Damage to the body that results from intentional or unintentional acute exposure to thermal, mechanical, electrical, or chemical energy, or from the absence of essentials such as heat or oxygen.
9. (9) Reportable injury--Any injury or condition required to be reported under this chapter.
10. (10) Report of an injury--The notification to the appropriate health authority of the occurrence of a specific injury in a human, including all information required by the rules and forms promulgated by the Board of Health.
11. (11) Spinal cord--That portion of the central nervous system which extends from the foramen magnum to the cauda equina. All nerve roots within the spinal canal are included.
12. (12) Spinal cord injury--An acute, traumatic lesion of the neural elements in the spinal canal, resulting in any degree of sensory deficit, motor deficits, or bladder/bowel dysfunction. The neurologic deficit or dysfunction can be temporary or permanent. The following International Classification of Diseases 9th Revision Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) diagnostic codes are to be used to identify cases of spinal cord injury: 806.0-806.9 and 952.0-953.9.
13. (13) State Trauma Registry--A statewide database which documents and integrates medical and system information related to the provision of trauma care by health care entities.
14. (14) Submersion injury--A drowning (a death resulting from suffocation within 24 hours of submersion in water) or near-drowning (survival for at least 24 hours after suffocation from submersion in water).
15. (15) Suspected case--A case in which an injury is suspected, but the final diagnosis is not yet made.
16. (16) Traumatic brain injury--An acquired injury to the brain, including brain injuries caused by anoxia due to near drowning. The term does not include brain dysfunction caused by congenital or degenerative disorders or birth trauma. The following International Classification of Diseases 9th Revision Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) diagnostic codes are to be used to identify cases of traumatic brain injury: 800.0-801.9, 803.0-804.9 and 850.0-854.1. The ICD-9-CM diagnostic code to be used to identify traumatic brain injury caused by anoxia due to near drowning is 348.1.

Source Note:The provisions of this §103.2 adopted to be effective March 1, 1994, 19 TexReg 1104; amended to be effective October 1, 1998, 23 TexReg 7806.