PRINTER'S NO. 1049
No. 940 Session of 1999
INTRODUCED BY ROONEY, DeLUCA, BELFANTI, HARHAI, GORDNER,
GRUCELA, LAUGHLIN, MELIO, RAMOS, READSHAW, SHANER, STEELMAN,
THOMAS, TRELLO, WALKO AND WASHINGTON, MARCH 22, 1999
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE, MARCH 22, 1999
AN ACT
1 Providing for medical practice disclosure; imposing powers and
2 duties on the Department of State; and providing for
3 penalties.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Short title.
7 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Medical
8 Practice Disclosure Act.
9 Section 2. Legislative intent.
10 The General Assembly hereby recognizes the necessity of
11 allowing individuals to make informed and educated choices
12 regarding health care services and the essential need to provide
13 information to facilitate these important decisions. It further
14 recognizes that public disclosure of certain health care
15 information would lower the cost of health care through the use
16 of the most appropriate provider and improve the quality of
17 health care services by mandating the reporting of information
18 regarding health care providers. It is the intention of the
1 General Assembly to establish a procedure by which the general
2 public may obtain essential and basic information concerning
3 potential health care providers, while ensuring the accuracy and
4 disclosure of all relevant information that would enable
5 individuals to informatively select their health care provider.
6 Section 3. Definitions.
7 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
8 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
9 context clearly indicates otherwise:
10 "Department." The Department of State of the Commonwealth.
11 "Physician." A medical doctor who has acquired one of the
12 following licenses to practice medicine and surgery issued by
13 the State Board of Medicine:
14 (1) License without restriction.
15 (2) Interim limited license.
16 (3) Graduate license.
17 (4) Institutional license.
18 (5) Temporary license.
19 (6) Extraterritorial license.
20 The term includes an individual licensed to practice osteopathic
21 medicine or surgery by the State Board of Osteopathic Medicine.
22 Section 4. Collection of information.
23 (a) Information.--The department shall collect the following
24 information, in a format created by the department that shall be
25 available for dissemination to the public pursuant to section
26 11:
27 (1) A description of any criminal convictions for
28 felonies and violent misdemeanors as determined by the
29 department, within the most recent ten years. For the
30 purposes of this paragraph, a person shall be deemed to be
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1 convicted of a crime if he pleaded guilty or if he was found
2 or adjudged guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction.
3 (2) A description of any charges to which a physician
4 pleads nolo contendere or where sufficient facts of guilt
5 were found and the matter was continued without a finding by
6 a court of competent jurisdiction.
7 (3) A description of any final disciplinary actions
8 taken by the State Board of Medicine within the most recent
9 ten years.
10 (4) A description of any final disciplinary actions by
11 licensing boards in other states or reported in the National
12 Practitioner Data Bank within the most recent ten years.
13 (5) A description of revocation or involuntary
14 restriction of hospital privileges that have been taken by
15 the hospital's governing body or any other official of the
16 hospital after procedural due process has been afforded, or
17 the resignation from or nonrenewal of medical staff
18 membership or the restriction of privileges at a hospital
19 taken in lieu of or in settlement of a pending disciplinary
20 case.
21 (6) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, all medical
22 malpractice court judgments and all medical malpractice
23 arbitration awards in which a payment is awarded to a
24 complaining party during the most recent ten years and all
25 settlements of medical malpractice claims in which a payment
26 is made to a complaining party within the most recent ten
27 years. Information concerning all settlements shall be
28 accompanied by the following statements:
29 Settlement of a claim may occur for a variety of reasons
30 which do not necessarily reflect negatively on the
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1 professional competence or conduct of the physician. A
2 payment in settlement of a medical malpractice action or
3 claim should not be construed as creating a presumption
4 that medical malpractice has occurred.
5 (7) A paragraph describing the malpractice experience of
6 each medical specialty and including an explanation that some
7 high-risk specialties experience more malpractice claims than
8 less risky specialties. This information shall be updated on
9 an annual basis to reflect the most recent malpractice claims
10 experience of each specialty.
11 (8) Names of medical schools and dates of graduation.
12 (9) Graduate medical education.
13 (10) Specialty board certification.
14 (11) Number of years in practice.
15 (12) Names of the hospitals where the licensee has
16 privileges.
17 (13) Appointments to medical school faculties and
18 indication as to whether a licensee has a responsibility for
19 graduate medical education within the most recent ten years.
20 (14) Information regarding publications in peer-reviewed
21 medical literature within the most recent ten years.
22 (15) Information regarding professional or community
23 service activities and awards.
24 (16) The location of the licensee's primary practice
25 location.
26 (17) The identification of any translating services that
27 may be available at the licensee's primary practice location.
28 (18) An indication of whether the licensee participates
29 in the Medicaid program.
30 (b) Copy of profiles.--The department shall provide
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1 individual licensees with a copy of their profiles prior to the
2 release to the public.
3 (c) Correction of information.--A licensee shall be provided
4 a reasonable time to correct factual inaccuracies or omissions
5 that may appear in the profile.
6 (d) Information presenting undue risk of harm.--A physician
7 may petition the Medical Licensure Board for permission to
8 temporarily omit certain information under this section for a
9 period not to exceed one year. If the physician demonstrates to
10 the board that disclosure of the information would represent an
11 undue risk of injury to the physician or the property of the
12 physician, the board may grant the request and the information
13 shall be withheld until such time as the situation is resolved,
14 based on the presentation of evidence to the board.
15 (e) Pending claims.--The department shall not disclose any
16 pending malpractice claims to the public, and nothing in this
17 section shall prohibit the department from investigating and
18 disciplining a licensee on the basis of pending medical
19 malpractice claim information obtained under this act.
20 Section 5. Report of criminal convictions and pleas of nolo
21 contendere.
22 (a) Duty of clerk of court.--The clerk of any court in which
23 a physician registered in this Commonwealth is convicted of any
24 crime or in which an unregistered practitioner is convicted of
25 holding himself out as a practitioner of medicine or of
26 practicing medicine shall, within one week thereafter, report
27 the same to the State Board of Medicine together with a copy of
28 the court proceedings in the case. For the purposes of this
29 section, a person shall be deemed to be convicted of a crime if
30 he pleaded guilty or was found or adjudged guilty by a court of
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1 competent jurisdiction. Upon review, the information shall be
2 provided to the department for purposes consistent with this
3 act.
4 (b) Pleading of nolo contendere.--In the instance where a
5 physician pleads nolo contendere to charges or where sufficient
6 facts of guilt were found and the matter was continued without a
7 finding by a court of competent jurisdiction, the clerk shall,
8 within one week thereafter, report the same to the State Board
9 of Medicine together with a copy of the court proceedings in the
10 case. Upon review, the information shall be provided to the
11 department for purposes consistent with this act.
12 Section 6. Reports by hospitals and health care facilities.
13 (a) Action report.--Any hospital or health care facility
14 licensed under the act of July 19, 1979 (P.L.130, No.48), known
15 as the Health Care Facilities Act, shall report to the
16 department if the hospital or facility denies, restricts,
17 revokes or fails to renew staff privileges or accepts the
18 resignation of a licensee for any reason related to the
19 licensee's competence to practice medicine or for any other
20 reason related to a complaint or allegation regarding any
21 violation of law, regulation, rule or bylaw of the hospital or
22 facility regardless of whether the complaint or allegation
23 specifically states a violation of a specific law, regulation,
24 rule or bylaw. The report shall be filed within 30 days of the
25 occurrence of the reportable action and include details
26 regarding the nature and circumstances of the action, its date
27 and the reasons for it.
28 (b) Annual disciplinary report.--Any hospital or health care
29 facility licensed under the Health Care Facilities Act shall
30 file an annual disciplinary report with the department no later
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1 than January 31 and shall send the report by certified or
2 registered mail. The report shall summarize the action reports
3 submitted for the previous calendar year and shall be signed
4 under oath. If the hospital or facility submitted no action
5 reports for the previous calendar year, then the report required
6 by this subsection shall state than no action reports were
7 required.
8 (c) Liability.--No hospital, health care facility or person
9 that reports information to the department under this section
10 shall be liable to the licensee referenced in the report for
11 making the report, provided that the report is made in good
12 faith and without malice.
13 Section 7. Reports of disciplinary action by professional
14 medical organizations.
15 (a) Report of disciplinary action.--Any professional medical
16 association, society, body, professional standards review
17 organization or similarly constituted professional organization,
18 whether or not such association, society, body or organization
19 is local, regional, State, national or international in scope,
20 shall report to State Board of Medicine the disciplinary action
21 taken against any licensee. Such report of disciplinary action
22 shall be filed with the board within 30 days of such
23 disciplinary action, shall be in writing and shall be mailed to
24 the board by certified or registered mail. Upon review, the
25 information shall be provided to the department for purposes
26 consistent with this act.
27 (b) Definition.--As used in this section, the term
28 "disciplinary action" includes, but is not limited to,
29 revocation, suspension, censure, reprimand, restriction,
30 nonrenewal, denial or restriction of privileges or resignation.
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1 A denial or restriction of privileges or a resignation shall be
2 reported only when the resignation or the denial or restriction
3 of privileges is related in any way to:
4 (1) the applicant's competence to practice medicine; or
5 (2) a complaint or allegation regarding any violation of
6 law or regulation, including, but not limited to, the
7 regulations of the department or the State Board of Medicine
8 or hospital, health care facility or professional medical
9 association bylaws, whether or not the complaint or
10 allegation specifically cites violation of a specified law,
11 regulation or bylaw.
12 Section 8. Reports by insurers of malpractice claims or
13 actions.
14 (a) Report required.--Every insurer or risk management
15 organization which provides professional liability insurance to
16 a licensed physician in this Commonwealth shall report to the
17 department any claim or action for damages for personal injuries
18 alleged to have been caused by error, omission or negligence in
19 the performance of the physician's professional services where
20 the claim resulted in:
21 (1) final judgment in any amount;
22 (2) settlement in any amount; or
23 (3) final disposition not resulting in payment on behalf
24 of the insured.
25 (b) Report.--Reports shall be filed with the department no
26 later than 30 days following the occurrence of any event listed
27 under this section.
28 (c) Form.--The reports shall be in writing on a form
29 prescribed by the department and shall contain the following
30 information:
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1 (1) The name, address, specialty coverage and policy
2 number of the physician against whom the claim is made.
3 (2) The name, address and age of the claimant or
4 plaintiff.
5 (3) The nature and substance of the claim.
6 (4) The date when and place where the claim arose.
7 (5) The amounts paid, if any, and the date, manner of
8 disposition, judgment and settlement.
9 (6) The date and reason for final disposition, if no
10 judgment or settlement.
11 (7) Such additional information as the department shall
12 require. No insurer or its agents or employees shall be
13 liable in any cause of action arising from reporting to the
14 department as required in this section.
15 Section 9. Reports of violations by public offenders or
16 employees.
17 Any officer or employer of any agency, executive office,
18 department, board, commission, bureau, division or authority of
19 the Commonwealth, or of any political subdivision thereof, who
20 is engaged in the provision or oversight of medical or health
21 services shall report to the State Board of Medicine any person
22 who is reasonably believed to be in violation of any applicable
23 State regulation, except as otherwise prohibited by law. Upon
24 review, the information shall be provided to the department for
25 purposes consistent with this act.
26 Section 10. Reports by physicians of settlements or arbitration
27 awards.
28 (a) General rule.--Any registered physician who does not
29 possess professional liability insurance shall report to the
30 department every settlement or arbitration award of a claim or
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1 action for damages for death or personal injury caused by
2 negligence, error or omission in practice, or the unauthorized
3 rendering of professional services by the physician. The report
4 shall be made within 30 days after the settlement agreement has
5 been reduced to writing or 30 days after service of the
6 arbitration award on the parties as long as it is signed by all
7 the parties.
8 (b) Penalty.--Failure of the physician to comply with the
9 provisions of this section is an offense punishable by a fine of
10 not more than $500. Knowledge and intentional failure to comply
11 with the provisions of this section, or conspiracy or collusion
12 not to comply with the provisions of this section, or to hinder
13 or impede any other person in such compliance is an offense
14 punishable by a fine of not less than $5,000 nor more than
15 $50,000.
16 Section 11. Public access to information.
17 (a) Telephone hotline.--
18 (1) The department shall establish a telephone number
19 which shall be operational on every business day between the
20 hours of 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. local time for the purposes of
21 disseminating information pursuant to section 4 to any
22 inquiry. The department shall employ and train those
23 personnel necessary to administer the provisions of this act
24 and shall give first consideration to any displaced
25 employees.
26 (2) Effective January 1, 2000, a fee of not more than
27 $20 shall be assessed to all licensed physicians. Effective
28 December 31, 2000, a fee of not more than $20 shall be
29 assessed to all licensed physicians, and the fee shall be
30 collected every two years to coincide with the collection of
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1 physician's license renewal fees. All money collected under
2 this section shall be deposited into the Medical Professional
3 Records Check Fund.
4 (b) Internet.--The department may disseminate information
5 pursuant to section 4 by posting the information on the
6 Commonwealth's web site on the Internet. The fees collected
7 under subsection (a) may be used to pay for the expenses of
8 complying with this subsection.
9 (c) Definition.--As used in this section, the term
10 "displaced employees" means individuals who are recipients of
11 public assistance or who, within the preceding 12 months, have
12 been displaced from jobs due to employer relocation, downsizing
13 or facility closings.
14 Section 12. Medical Professional Records Check Fund.
15 There is hereby created a Medical Professional Records Check
16 Fund as a nonlapsing fund in the State Treasury. The moneys of
17 the fund shall be kept separate and apart from all other public
18 money or funds of the Commonwealth and are hereby appropriated
19 to the Department of State on a continuing basis for use in
20 carrying out the provisions of this act.
21 Section 13. Rules and regulations.
22 The department shall in the manner provided by law promulgate
23 the rules and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions
24 of this act, including, but not limited to, the exchange of
25 information between the State Board of Medicine, the department
26 and relevant Commonwealth agencies and judicial administrative
27 offices.
28 Section 14. Effective date.
29 This act shall take effect January 1, 2000, or immediately,
30 whichever is later.
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