HB 252 — MEDICAL ERROR REPORTING LAW

(8) hospitals are required to maintain accurate, current, and complete personnel records for each employee, including current and background information sufficient to justify the initial and continuing employment of the individual;

(9) hospitals are routinely denied information about prospective employees from their former employers with regard to patient error or unusual incidents because these former employers fear that their former employees may file defamation or other civil lawsuits;

and (10) by establishing an environment that both mandates the confidential disclosure of the most serious preventable adverse incidents and encourages the voluntary, anonymous and confidential disclosure of less serious adverse incidents, as well as preventable incidents and near-misses, the State seeks to increase the amount of information on systems failures, analyze the sources of these failures, and disseminate information on effective practices for reducing systems failures and improving the safety of patients.

Section 5-10.

Definitions.

As used in this Law:

"Adverse incident" means an unusual incident that is a negative consequence of care that results in unintended injury or illness, which may or may not have been preventable.

"Anonymous" means that information is presented in a form and manner that prevents the identification of the person filing the report.

"Department" means the Department of Public Health.

"Director" means the Director of Public Health.

"Incident" means a discrete, auditable, and clearly defined occurrence.

"Health care facility" means a facility or institution, HB0252 - 3 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b whether public or private, engaged principally in providing services for health maintenance organizations or in diagnosis of treatment of human disease, pain, injury, deformity, or physical condition, including, but not limited to, a general hospital, special hospital, mental hospital, public health center, diagnostic center, treatment center, rehabilitation center, extended care facility, skilled nursing home, nursing home, intermediate care facility, tuberculosis hospital, chronic disease hospital, maternity hospital, outpatient clinic, dispensary, home health care agency, residential health care facility, and bioanalytical laboratory (except as specifically excluded hereunder) or central services facility serving one or more such institutions but excluding institutions that provide healing solely by prayer and excluding such bioanalytical laboratories as are independently owned and operated, and are not owned, operated, managed or controlled, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly by any one or more health care facilities, and the predominant source of business of which is not by contract with health care facilities within the State.

"Health care professional" means an individual who, acting within the scope of his or her licensure or certification, provides health care services and includes, but is not limited to, a physician, dentist, nurse, pharmacist, or other health care professional whose professional practice is regulated pursuant to Chapter 225 of the Illinois Compiled Statutes.

"Near-miss" means an occurrence that could have resulted in an adverse incident but the adverse incident was prevented.

"Preventable incident" means an incident that could have been anticipated and prepared against, but occurs because of an error or other system failure.

"Serious preventable adverse incident" means an adverse incident that is a preventable incident and results in death or loss of a body part, or disability or loss of bodily function lasting more than 7 days or still present at the time of discharge from a health care facility.

HB0252 - 4 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b Section 5-15.

Patient safety plan.

(a) In accordance with the requirements established by the Director by rule, a health care facility shall develop and implement a patient safety plan for the purpose of improving the health and safety of patients at the facility.

(b) The patient safety plan shall, at a minimum, include all of the following:

(1) A patient safety committee, as prescribed by rule.

(2) A process for teams of facility staff, which teams are comprised of personnel who are representative of the facility’s various disciplines and have appropriate competencies, to conduct ongoing analysis and application of evidence-based patient safety practices in order to reduce the probability of adverse incidents resulting from exposure to the health care system across a range of diseases and procedures.

(3) A process for teams of facility staff, which teams are comprised of personnel who are representative of the facility’s various disciplines and have appropriate competencies, to conduct analyses of near-misses, with particular attention to serious preventable adverse incidents and adverse incidents.

(4) A process for the provision of ongoing patient safety training for facility personnel.

(c) Any documents, materials, or information developed by a health care facility as part of a process of self-critical analysis conducted pursuant to this Section concerning preventable incidents, near-misses, and adverse incidents, including serious preventable adverse incidents, and any document or oral statement that constitutes the disclosure provided to a patient or the patient’s family member or guardian pursuant to subsection (b) of Section 5-20, shall not be (i) subject to discovery or admissible as evidence or otherwise disclosed in any civil, criminal, or administrative action or proceeding or (ii) used in an adverse employment HB0252 - 5 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b action or in the evaluation of decisions made in relation to accreditation, certification, credentialing, or licensing of an individual, which is based on the individual’s participation in the development, collection, reporting, or storage of information in accordance with this Section.

The provisions of this subsection shall not be construed to limit a health care facility from taking disciplinary action against a health care professional in a case in which the professional has displayed recklessness, gross negligence, or willful misconduct or in which there is evidence, based on other similar cases known to the facility, of a pattern of significant substandard performance that resulted in serious preventable adverse incidents.

Section 5-20.

Reports;

use of information.

(a) A health care facility must report to the Department in a form and manner established by the Director every serious preventable adverse incident that occurs in that facility.

(b) A health care facility shall ensure that the patient affected by a serious preventable adverse incident, or, in the case of a minor or a patient who is incapacitated, the patient’s parent or guardian or other family member, as appropriate, is informed of the serious preventable adverse incident, no later than the end of the episode of care, or, if discovery occurs after the end of the episode of care, in a timely fashion as established by the Director by rule.

If the patient’s physician determines, in accordance with criteria established by the Director by rule, that the disclosure would seriously and adversely affect the patient’s health, then the facility shall notify the family member, if available.

In the event that an adult patient is not informed of the serious preventable adverse incident, the facility shall ensure that the physician includes a statement in the patient’s medical record that provides the reason for not informing the patient pursuant to this Section.

(c) A health care professional or other employee of a HB0252 - 6 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b health care facility is encouraged to make anonymous reports to the Department in a form and manner established by the Director regarding near-misses, preventable incidents, and adverse incidents that are otherwise not subject to mandatory reporting pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section.

The Director shall establish procedures for and a system to collect, store, and analyze information voluntarily reported pursuant to this subsection.

The repository shall function as a clearinghouse for trend analysis of the information collected pursuant to this subsection.

(d) Any documents, materials, or information received by the Department pursuant to the provisions of subsections (a) and (c) of this Section concerning serious preventable adverse incidents, near-misses, preventable incidents, and adverse incidents that are otherwise not subject to mandatory reporting pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section shall not be (i) subject to discovery or admissible as evidence or otherwise disclosed in any civil, criminal, or administrative action or proceeding, (ii) considered a public record under the Freedom of Information Act, or (iii) used in an adverse employment action or in the evaluation of decisions made in relation to accreditation, certification, credentialing, or licensing of an individual, which is based on the individual’s participation in the development, collection, reporting, or storage of information in accordance with this Section.

The provisions of this subsection shall not be construed to limit a health care facility from taking disciplinary action against a health care professional in a case in which the professional has displayed recklessness, gross negligence, or willful misconduct or in which there is evidence, based on other similar cases known to the facility, of a pattern of significant substandard performance that resulted in serious preventable adverse incidents.

The information received by the Department may be used by the Department and the Attorney General for the purposes of this Law and for oversight of facilities and health care HB0252 - 7 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b professionals.

The Department and the Attorney General shall not use the information for any other purpose.

In using the information to exercise oversight, the Department and the Attorney General shall place primary emphasis on ensuring effective corrective action by the facility or health care professional, reserving punitive enforcement or disciplinary action for those cases in which the facility or the professional has displayed recklessness, gross negligence, or willful misconduct or in which there is evidence, based on other similar cases known to the Department or the Attorney General, of a pattern of significant substandard performance that has the potential for or actually results in harm to patients.

Section 5-25.

Rules.

The Director shall adopt any rules necessary to carry out the provisions of this Article.

The regulations shall establish:

criteria for a health care facility’s patient safety plan and patient safety committee;

the time frame and format for mandatory reporting of serious preventable adverse incidents at a health care facility;

the types of incidents that qualify as serious preventable adverse incidents;

and the circumstances under which a health care facility is not required to inform a patient or the patient’s family about a serious preventable adverse incident.

In establishing the criteria for reporting serious preventable adverse incidents, the Director shall, to the extent feasible, use criteria for these incidents that have been or are developed by organizations engaged in the development of nationally recognized standards.

Section 5-30.

Report to General Assembly.

The Director of Public Health shall issue an annual report to the General Assembly, which is also available to the general public, no later than 18 months after the effective date of this Law on the status of patient safety plans established by health care facilities subject to this Law and information reported to the HB0252 - 8 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b Department as required by this Law or which is voluntarily reported as permitted by this Law regarding serious preventable adverse incidents that occur in health care facilities subject to this Law.

Article 10.

Section 10-1.

Short title.

This Article may be cited as the Health Care Practitioner Reporting Law.

Section 10-5.

Definition.

As used in this Law, "health care practitioner" means any licensed professional that provides health care services.

"Health care practitioner" includes a physician, dentist, podiatrist, advanced practice nurse, physician assistant, clinical psychologist, and clinical social worker.

Section 10-10.

Reporting.

(a) A law enforcement agency or other government agency that receives a complaint alleging that a State licensed health care practitioner caused injury or death to a patient while practicing within the scope of that practitioner’s profession shall promptly report the information contained in the complaint to the appropriate licensing board having jurisdiction over the health care practitioner and to the patient safety committee of the health care facility where the health care practitioner practices, which is established under Section 5-15 of the Medical Error Reporting Law.

(b) An employee of a health care practitioner licensed pursuant to Chapter 225 of the Illinois Compiled Statutes who, as a result of information obtained in the course of his or her employment, has reasonable cause to suspect that the health care practitioner, in the course of his or her professional duties, has caused injury or death to a patient shall promptly report the information to the appropriate licensing board having jurisdiction over the health care practitioner.

HB0252 - 9 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b (c) An employee of a licensed health care facility who, as a result of information obtained in the course of his or her employment, has reasonable cause to suspect that a health care practitioner licensed pursuant to Chapter 225 of the Illinois Compiled Statutes, in the course of his or her professional duties in the health care facility, has caused injury or death to a patient shall promptly report the information to the appropriate licensing board having jurisdiction over the health care practitioner.

An employee may not be fired or terminated by his or her employer in retaliation for complying with this mandatory reporting requirement.

(d) The name of any person who reports information concerning a health care practitioner pursuant to this Section shall not be disclosed without the person’s consent, unless an administrative or judicial proceeding results from the report.

(e) A person who reports information pursuant to this Section or who testifies in any administrative or judicial proceeding arising from the report shall have immunity from any civil or criminal liability on account of the report or testimony, unless the person has acted in bad faith or with malicious purpose.

(f) Any person who falsely reports information under this Law shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.

(g) A law enforcement agency that arrests a State licensed health care practitioner for a crime or for a violation of Section 11-501 of the Illinois Vehicle Code shall promptly report that information to the appropriate licensing board having jurisdiction over the health care practitioner.

(h) A court in this State that convicts a State licensed health care practitioner for a crime or for a violation of Section 11-501 of the Illinois Vehicle Code shall promptly report that information to the appropriate licensing board having jurisdiction over the health care practitioner.

Section 10-15.

Rules.

The Attorney General shall adopt rules pursuant to the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act to HB0252 - 10 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b carry out the purposes of this Article.

Article 15.

Section 15-1.

Short title.

This Article may be cited as the Health Care Consumer Information Law.

Section 15-5.

Definitions.

As used in this Law:

"Board" means the Medical Licensing Board in the case of a physician and the Podiatric Medical Licensing Board in the case of a podiatrist.

"Department" means the Department of Public Health.

Section 15-10.

Profiles.

(a) The Department of Public Health, in consultation with the Medical Licensing Board and the Podiatric Medical Licensing Board, shall, within 180 days after the effective date of this Law and thereafter, collect and maintain information concerning all physicians and podiatrists licensed in this State for the purpose of creating a profile of each physician and podiatrist pursuant to this Law.

The profiles shall be made available to the public through electronic and other appropriate means, at no charge to the public.

The Department shall establish a toll-free telephone number for members of the public to contact the Department to obtain a paper copy of a physician or podiatrist profile and to make other inquiries about the profiles.

(b) A physician or podiatrist shall be required to provide the Board or Department or its designated agent with any information necessary to complete the profile as provided in Section 20-15 of this Law.

(c) The Board may request any additional information it deems necessary to complete the profiles on the biennial license renewal form submitted by physicians and podiatrists.

(d) The Board shall provide to the Department or its designated agent any information required pursuant to this Law HB0252 - 11 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b that is available to the Board concerning a physician or podiatrist for the purpose of creating the physician and podiatrist profiles.

Section 15-15.

Information in profile.

(a) The following information must be included for each profile of a physician or podiatrist:

(1) Name of all medical schools attended and dates of graduation.

(2) Graduate medical education, including all internships, residencies, and fellowships.

(3) Number of years in practice.

(4) Number of years in practice in Illinois.

(5) Location of the physician’s or podiatrist’s office practice site or sites, as applicable.

(6) A description of any criminal convictions for felonies within the most recent 10 years.

For the purposes of this item, a person shall be deemed to be convicted of a crime if the individual pleaded guilty or was found or adjudged guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction.

The description of criminal convictions shall not include any convictions that have been expunged.

(7) A description of any final Board disciplinary actions within the most recent 10 years, except that any such disciplinary action that is being appealed shall be identified.

(8) A description of any final disciplinary actions by appropriate licensing boards in other states within the most recent 10 years, except that any such disciplinary action that is being appealed shall be identified.

(9) A description of the revocation or involuntary restriction of privileges at a health care facility for reasons related to the practitioner’s competence or misconduct or impairment taken by a health care facility’s governing body or any other official of the health care facility after procedural due process has been afforded;

HB0252 - 12 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b the resignation from or nonrenewal of medical staff membership at the health care facility for reasons related to the practitioner’s competence or misconduct or impairment;

or the restriction of privileges at a health care facility taken in lieu of or in settlement of a pending disciplinary case related to the practitioner’s competence or misconduct or impairment.

Only those cases that have occurred within the most recent 10 years shall be included in the profile.

(10) All medical malpractice court judgments and all medical malpractice arbitration awards in which a payment has been awarded to the complaining party during the most recent 5 years and all settlements of medical malpractice claims in which a payment is made to the complaining party within the most recent 5 years, as follows:

(A) Pending medical malpractice claims shall not be included in the profile and information on pending medical malpractice claims shall not be disclosed to the public.

(B) A medical malpractice judgment that is being appealed shall be so identified.

(C) The context in which the payment of a medical malpractice claim occurs shall be identified by categorizing the number of judgments, arbitration awards, and settlements against the physician or podiatrist into 3 graduated categories:

average, above average, and below average number of judgments, arbitration awards, and settlements.

These groupings shall be arrived at by comparing the number of an individual physician’s or podiatrist’s medical malpractice judgments, arbitration awards, and settlements to the experience of other physicians or podiatrists within the same speciality.

(D) The following statement shall be included with the information concerning medical malpractice judgments, arbitration awards, and settlements:

HB0252 - 13 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b "Settlement of a claim and, in particular, the dollar amount of the settlement may occur for a variety of reasons, which do not necessarily reflect negatively on the professional competence or conduct of the physician (or podiatrist).

A payment in settlement of a medical malpractice action or claim should not be construed as creating a presumption that medical malpractice has occurred.".

(b) If requested by a physician or podiatrist, the following information may be included in a physician’s or podiatrist’s profile:

(1) Names of the hospitals where the physician or podiatrist has privileges.

(2) Appointments of the physician or podiatrist to medical school faculties within the most recent 10 years.

(3) Information regarding any nationally recognized specialty board certification or accreditation by any national professional organization.

(4) Information regarding any translating services that may be available at the physician’s or podiatrist’s office practice site or languages other than English that are spoken by the physician or podiatrist.

(5) Information regarding whether the physician or podiatrist participates in the Medicaid program or accepts assignment under the Medicare program.

(6) Information regarding the medical insurance plans in which the physician or podiatrist is a participating provider.

(7) Information concerning the hours during which the physician or podiatrist conducts his or her practice.

(8) Information concerning accessibility of the practice site to persons with disabilities.

The following disclaimer shall be included with the information supplied by the physician or podiatrist pursuant to this subsection:

"This information has been provided by the physician (or podiatrist) but has not been independently HB0252 - 14 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b verified by the Medical Licensing Board or the Department of Public Health." If the physician or podiatrist includes information regarding medical insurance plans in which the practitioner is a participating provider, the following disclaimer shall be included with that information:

"This information may be subject to change.

Contact your health benefits plan to verify whether the physician (or podiatrist) currently participates in the plan." (c) Before a profile is made available to the public, each physician or podiatrist shall be provided with a copy of his or her profile.

The profile shall be sent to the physician or podiatrist by certified mail, return receipt requested.

The physician or podiatrist shall be given 30 calendar days to correct a factual inaccuracy that may appear in the profile and return it to the Department of Public Health or its designated agent;

however, upon receipt of a written request that the Department or its designated agent deems reasonable, the physician or podiatrist may be granted an extension of up to 15 calendar days to correct a factual inaccuracy and return the corrected profile to the Department or its designated agent.

(d) If new information or a change in existing information is received by the Department concerning a physician or podiatrist, the physician or podiatrist shall be provided with a copy of the proposed revision and shall be given 30 calendar days to correct a factual inaccuracy and to return the corrected information to the Department or its designated agent.

(e) The profile and any revisions thereto shall not be made available to the public until after the review period provided for in this Section has elapsed.

Section 15-20.

Contract.

(a) The Department shall contract with a public or private entity for the purpose of developing, administering, and maintaining the physician and podiatrist profiles required HB0252 - 15 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b pursuant to this Law.

The contract shall specify the duties and responsibilities of the entity with respect to the development, administration, and maintenance of the profile.

The contract shall specify the duties and responsibilities of the Department with respect to providing the information required pursuant to Section 20-15 of this Law to the entity on a regular and timely basis.

The contract shall specify that any identifying information concerning a physician or podiatrist provided to the entity by the Department, the Board, or the physician or podiatrist shall be used only for the purpose of the profile.

(b) The Department shall monitor the work of the entity to ensure that physician and podiatrist profiles are properly developed and maintained pursuant to the requirements of this Law.

Section 15-25.

Report to General Assembly.

The Director of Public Health shall report to the General Assembly no later than 18 months after the effective date of this Law on the status of the physician and podiatrist profiles.

The Director shall also make recommendations in the report on the issue of developing profiles for other licensed health care professionals, including, but not limited to, dentists, nurses, physician assistants, optometrists, and physical therapists, and the type of information that would be appropriate to include in the respective profiles for each type of licensed health care professional.

Section 15-30.

Rules.

The Department shall adopt any rules necessary for the enforcement of this Law.

Section 15-90.

The Medical Practice Act of 1987 is amended by changing Section 45 as follows:

(225 ILCS 60/45) (from Ch.

111, par.

4400-45) (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2007) Sec.

45.

In all hearings conducted under this Act, HB0252 - 16 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b information received, pursuant to law, relating to any information acquired by a physician in attending any patient in a professional character, necessary to enable them professionally to serve such patient, shall be deemed strictly confidential and shall only be made available either as part of the record of such hearing or otherwise:

(a) when such record is required, in its entirety, for purposes of judicial review pursuant to this Act;

or (b) upon the express, written consent of the patient, or in the case of their death or disability, of their personal representative.

The provisions of this Section shall not apply to information that the Department of Public Health or its designated agent is required to include in a physician’s profile pursuant to the Health Care Consumer Information Law.

(Source:

P.A.

85-4.) Article 90.

Section 90-5.

The Medical Practice Act of 1987 is amended by changing Section 22 as follows:

(b) an institution licensed under the Hospital HB0252 - 17 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b Licensing Act;

or HB0252 Engrossed - 2 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b (e) ambulatory surgical treatment centers, hospitalization or care facilities maintained by any university or college established under the laws of this State and supported principally by public funds raised by taxation.

HB0252 - 18 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b (9) Fraud or misrepresentation in applying for, or procuring, a license under this Act or in connection with applying for renewal of a license under this Act.

(12) Disciplinary action of another state or HB0252 Engrossed - 3 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b jurisdiction against a license or other authorization to practice as a medical doctor, doctor of osteopathy, doctor of osteopathic medicine or doctor of chiropractic, a certified copy of the record of the action taken by the other state or jurisdiction being prima facie evidence thereof.

Nothing contained in this subsection prohibits persons holding valid and current licenses under this Act from practicing medicine in partnership under a partnership agreement, including a limited liability partnership, in a limited liability company under the Limited Liability Company Act, in a corporation authorized by the Medical Corporation Act, as an association authorized by the Professional Association Act, or in a corporation under the Professional Corporation HB0252 - 19 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b Act or from pooling, sharing, dividing or apportioning the fees and monies received by them or by the partnership, corporation or association in accordance with the partnership agreement or the policies of the Board of Directors of the corporation or association.

Nothing contained in this subsection prohibits 2 or more corporations authorized by the Medical Corporation Act, from forming a partnership or joint venture of such corporations, and providing medical, surgical and scientific research and knowledge by employees of these corporations if such employees are licensed under this Act, HB0252 Engrossed - 4 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b or from pooling, sharing, dividing, or apportioning the fees and monies received by the partnership or joint venture in accordance with the partnership or joint venture agreement.

(18) Promotion of the sale of drugs, devices, appliances or goods provided for a patient in such manner as to exploit the patient for financial gain of the HB0252 - 20 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b physician.

(21) Wilfully making or filing false records or reports in his or her practice as a physician, including, but not HB0252 Engrossed - 5 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b limited to, false records to support claims against the medical assistance program of the Department of Public Aid under the Illinois Public Aid Code.

HB0252 - 21 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b (26) A pattern of practice or other behavior which demonstrates incapacity or incompetence to practice under this Act.

(29) Cheating on or attempt to subvert the licensing HB0252 Engrossed - 6 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b examinations administered under this Act.

(35) Failure to report to the Department surrender of a license or authorization to practice as a medical doctor, a doctor of osteopathy, a doctor of osteopathic medicine, or HB0252 - 22 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b doctor of chiropractic in another state or jurisdiction, or surrender of membership on any medical staff or in any medical or professional association or society, while under disciplinary investigation by any of those authorities or bodies, for acts or conduct similar to acts or conduct which would constitute grounds for action as defined in this Section.

(36) Failure to report to the Department any adverse judgment, settlement, or award arising from a liability claim related to acts or conduct similar to acts or conduct which would constitute grounds for action as defined in HB0252 Engrossed - 7 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b this Section.

All proceedings to suspend, revoke, place on probationary status, or take any other disciplinary action as the Department may deem proper, with regard to a license on any of the foregoing grounds, must be commenced within 5 3 years next HB0252 - 23 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b after receipt by the Department of a complaint alleging the commission of or notice of the conviction order for any of the acts described herein.

In the event of the settlement of any claim or cause of action in favor of the claimant or the reduction to final judgment of any civil action in favor of the plaintiff, such claim, cause of action or civil action being grounded on the allegation that a person licensed under this Act was negligent in providing care, the Department shall have an HB0252 Engrossed - 8 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b additional period of one year from the date of notification to the Department under Section 23 of this Act of such settlement or final judgment in which to investigate and commence formal disciplinary proceedings under Section 36 of this Act, except as otherwise provided by law.

HB0252 - 24 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b The Department, upon the recommendation of the Disciplinary Board, shall adopt rules which set forth standards to be used in determining:

(c) what constitutes immoral conduct in the commission of any act, including, but not limited to, commission of an act of sexual misconduct related to the licensee’s HB0252 Engrossed - 9 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b practice;

Failure of any individual to submit to mental or physical examination, when directed, shall be grounds for suspension of his or her license until such time as the individual submits to the examination if HB0252 - 25 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b the Disciplinary Board finds, after notice and hearing, that the refusal to submit to the examination was without reasonable cause.

Any physician, whose license was granted pursuant to Sections 9, 17, or 19 of this Act, or, continued, reinstated, renewed, disciplined or supervised, subject to such terms, conditions or HB0252 Engrossed - 10 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b restrictions who shall fail to comply with such terms, conditions or restrictions, or to complete a required program of care, counseling, or treatment, as determined by the Chief Medical Coordinator or Deputy Medical Coordinators, shall be referred to the Director for a determination as to whether the licensee shall have their license suspended immediately, pending a hearing by the Disciplinary Board.

Fines may be imposed in conjunction with other forms of disciplinary action, but shall not be the HB0252 - 26 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b exclusive disposition of any disciplinary action arising out of conduct resulting in death or injury to a patient.

(B) The Department shall revoke the license or visiting permit of any person issued under this Act to practice medicine or to treat human ailments without the use of drugs and without operative surgery, who has been convicted a second time of committing any felony under the Illinois Controlled Substances Act, or who has been convicted a second time of committing a Class 1 felony under Sections 8A-3 and 8A-6 of the Illinois HB0252 Engrossed - 11 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b Public Aid Code.

8-13-98.) Article(225 99.ILCS 60/23) (from Ch.

Section111, 99-1.par.

4400-23) Sec.

23.

Reports relating to professional conduct and capacity.

(A) Entities required to report.

(1) Health care institutions.

The chief administrator or executive officer of any health care institution licensed by the Illinois Department of Public Health shall report to the Disciplinary Board when any person’s clinical privileges are terminated or restricted based on a final determination, in accordance with that institution’s by-laws or rules and regulations, that a person has either committed an act or acts which may directly threaten patient care, and not of an administrative nature, or that a person may be mentally or physically disabled in such a manner as to endanger patients under that person’s care.

Such officer also shall report if a person accepts voluntary termination or restriction of clinical privileges in lieu of formal action based upon conduct HB0252 Engrossed - 12 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b related directly to patient care and not of an administrative nature, or in lieu of formal action seeking to determine whether a person may be mentally or physically disabled in such a manner as to endanger patients under that person’s care.

The Medical Disciplinary Board shall, by rule, provide for the reporting to the Board of all instances in which a person, licensed under this Act, who is impaired by reason of age, drug or alcohol abuse, physical or mental impairment, is under supervision and, where appropriate, is in a program of rehabilitation.

Such reports shall be strictly confidential and may be reviewed and considered only by the members of the Disciplinary Board, or by authorized staff as provided by rules of the Disciplinary Board.

Provisions shall be made for the periodic report of the status of any such person not less than twice annually in order that the Disciplinary Board shall have current information upon which to determine the status of any such person.

Such initial and periodic reports of impaired physicians shall not be considered records within the meaning of The State Records Act and shall be disposed of, following a determination by the Disciplinary Board that such reports are no longer required, in a manner and at such time as the Disciplinary Board shall determine by rule.

The filing of such reports shall be construed as the filing of a report for purposes of subsection (C) of this Section.

(2) Professional associations.

The President or chief executive officer of any association or society, of persons licensed under this Act, operating within this State shall report to the Disciplinary Board when the association or society renders a final determination that a person has committed unprofessional conduct related directly to patient care or that a person may be mentally or physically disabled in such a manner as to endanger patients under that person’s care.

(3) Professional liability insurers.

Every insurance HB0252 Engrossed - 13 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b company which offers policies of professional liability insurance to persons licensed under this Act, or any other entity which seeks to indemnify the professional liability of a person licensed under this Act, shall report to the Disciplinary Board the settlement of any claim or cause of action, or final judgment rendered in any cause of action, which alleged negligence in the furnishing of medical care by such licensed person when such settlement or final judgment is in favor of the plaintiff.

(4) State’s Attorneys.

The State’s Attorney of each county shall report to the Disciplinary Board all instances in which a person licensed under this Act is convicted or otherwise found guilty of the commission of any felony.

The State’s Attorney of each county may report to the Disciplinary Board through a verified complaint any instance in which the State’s Attorney believes that a physician has willfully violated the notice requirements of the Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 1995.

(5) State agencies.

All agencies, boards, commissions, departments, or other instrumentalities of the government of the State of Illinois shall report to the Disciplinary Board any instance arising in connection with the operations of such agency, including the administration of any law by such agency, in which a person licensed under this Act has either committed an act or acts which may be a violation of this Act or which may constitute unprofessional conduct related directly to patient care or which indicates that a person licensed under this Act may be mentally or physically disabled in such a manner as to endanger patients under that person’s care.

(B) Mandatory reporting.

All reports required by items (34), (35), and (36) of subsection (A) of Section 22 and by Section 23 shall be submitted to the Disciplinary Board in a timely fashion.

The reports shall be filed in writing within 60 days after a determination that a report is required under this Act.

All reports shall contain the following information:

HB0252 Engrossed - 14 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b (1) The name, address, and telephone number of the person making the report.

(2) The name, address, and telephone number of the person who is the subject of the report.

(3) The name or other means of identification of any patient or patients whose treatment is a subject of the report, provided, however, no medical records may be revealed without the written consent of the patient or patients.

(4) A brief description of the facts which gave rise to the issuance of the report, including the dates of any occurrences deemed to necessitate the filing of the report.

(5) If court action is involved, the identity of the court in which the action is filed, along with the docket number and date of filing of the action.

(6) Any further pertinent information which the reporting party deems to be an aid in the evaluation of the report.

The Department shall have the right to inform patients of the right to provide written consent for the Department to obtain copies of hospital and medical records.

The Disciplinary Board or Department may exercise the power under Section 38 of this Act to subpoena copies of hospital or medical records in mandatory report cases alleging death or permanent bodily injury when consent to obtain records is not provided by a patient or legal representative.

Appropriate rules shall be adopted by the Department with the approval of the Disciplinary Board.

When the Department has received written reports concerning incidents required to be reported in items (34), (35), and (36) of subsection (A) of Section 22, the licensee’s failure to report the incident to the Department under those items shall not be the sole grounds for disciplinary action.

Nothing contained in this Section shall act to in any way, waive or modify the confidentiality of medical reports and committee reports to the extent provided by law.

Except for HB0252 Engrossed - 15 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b information required for physician profiles under Section 23.1 of this Act, any information reported or disclosed shall be kept for the confidential use of the Disciplinary Board, the Medical Coordinators, the Disciplinary Board’s attorneys, the medical investigative staff, and authorized clerical staff, as provided in this Act, and shall be afforded the same status as is provided information concerning medical studies in Part 21 of Article VIII of the Code of Civil Procedure.

(C) Immunity from prosecution.

Any individual or organization acting in good faith, and not in a wilful and wanton manner, in complying with this Act by providing any report or other information to the Disciplinary Board, or assisting in the investigation or preparation of such information, or by participating in proceedings of the Disciplinary Board, or by serving as a member of the Disciplinary Board, shall not, as a result of such actions, be subject to criminal prosecution or civil damages.

(D) Indemnification.

Members of the Disciplinary Board, the Medical Coordinators, the Disciplinary Board’s attorneys, the medical investigative staff, physicians retained under contract to assist and advise the medical coordinators in the investigation, and authorized clerical staff shall be indemnified by the State for any actions occurring within the scope of services on the Disciplinary Board, done in good faith and not wilful and wanton in nature.

The Attorney General shall defend all such actions unless he or she determines either that there would be a conflict of interest in such representation or that the actions complained of were not in good faith or were wilful and wanton.

Should the Attorney General decline representation, the member shall have the right to employ counsel of his or her choice, whose fees shall be provided by the State, after approval by the Attorney General, unless there is a determination by a court that the member’s actions were not in good faith or were wilful and wanton.

The member must notify the Attorney General within 7 days HB0252 Engrossed - 16 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b of receipt of notice of the initiation of any action involving services of the Disciplinary Board.

Failure to so notify the Attorney General shall constitute an absolute waiver of the right to a defense and indemnification.

The Attorney General shall determine within 7 days after receiving such notice, whether he or she will undertake to represent the member.

(E) Deliberations of Disciplinary Board.

Upon the receipt of any report called for by this Act, other than those reports of impaired persons licensed under this Act required pursuant to the rules of the Disciplinary Board, the Disciplinary Board shall notify in writing, by certified mail, the person who is the subject of the report.

Such notification shall be made within 30 days of receipt by the Disciplinary Board of the report.

The notification shall include a written notice setting forth the person’s right to examine the report.

Included in such notification shall be the address at which the file is maintained, the name of the custodian of the reports, and the telephone number at which the custodian may be reached.

The person who is the subject of the report shall submit a written statement responding, clarifying, adding to, or proposing the amending of the report previously filed.

The statement shall become a permanent part of the file and must be received by the Disciplinary Board no more than 60 days after the date on which the person was notified by the Disciplinary Board of the existence of the original report.

The Disciplinary Board shall review all reports received by it, together with any supporting information and responding statements submitted by persons who are the subject of reports.

The review by the Disciplinary Board shall be in a timely manner but in no event, shall the Disciplinary Board’s initial review of the material contained in each disciplinary file be less than 61 days nor more than 180 days after the receipt of the initial report by the Disciplinary Board.

When the Disciplinary Board makes its initial review of the HB0252 Engrossed - 17 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b materials contained within its disciplinary files, the Disciplinary Board shall, in writing, make a determination as to whether there are sufficient facts to warrant further investigation or action.

Failure to make such determination within the time provided shall be deemed to be a determination that there are not sufficient facts to warrant further investigation or action.

Should the Disciplinary Board find that there are not sufficient facts to warrant further investigation, or action, the report shall be accepted for filing and the matter shall be deemed closed and so reported to the Director.

The Director shall then have 30 days to accept the Medical Disciplinary Board’s decision or request further investigation.

The Director shall inform the Board in writing of the decision to request further investigation, including the specific reasons for the decision.

The individual or entity filing the original report or complaint and the person who is the subject of the report or complaint shall be notified in writing by the Director of any final action on their report or complaint.

(F) Summary reports.

The Disciplinary Board shall prepare, on a timely basis, but in no event less than one every other month, a summary report of final actions taken upon disciplinary files maintained by the Disciplinary Board.

The summary reports shall be sent by the Disciplinary Board to every health care facility licensed by the Illinois Department of Public Health, every professional association and society of persons licensed under this Act functioning on a statewide basis in this State, the American Medical Association, the American Osteopathic Association, the American Chiropractic Association, all insurers providing professional liability insurance to persons licensed under this Act in the State of Illinois, the Federation of State Medical Licensing Boards, and the Illinois Pharmacists Association.

(G) Any violation of this Section shall be a Class A misdemeanor.

(H) If any such person violates the provisions of this HB0252 Engrossed - 18 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b Section an action may be brought in the name of the People of the State of Illinois, through the Attorney General of the State of Illinois, for an order enjoining such violation or for an order enforcing compliance with this Section.

Upon filing of a verified petition in such court, the court may issue a temporary restraining order without notice or bond and may preliminarily or permanently enjoin such violation, and if it is established that such person has violated or is violating the injunction, the court may punish the offender for contempt of court.

Proceedings under this paragraph shall be in addition to, and not in lieu of, all other remedies and penalties provided for by this Section.

(Source:

P.A.

89-18, eff.

6-1-95;

89-702, eff.

7-1-97;

90-699, eff.

1-1-99.) (225 ILCS 60/23.1 new) Sec.

23.1.

Public disclosure of disciplinary records.

(a) The Disciplinary Board shall collect from the reports required in subsection (A) of Section 23 all of the following information to create individual profiles on licensees, in a format created by the Disciplinary Board that shall be available for dissemination to the public:

(1) A description of any criminal convictions for felonies within the most recent 10 years.

For the purposes of this item, a person shall be deemed to be convicted of a crime if he or she pled guilty or if he or she was found or adjudged guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(2) A description of any final disciplinary actions taken by the Disciplinary Board within the most recent 10 years.

All final disciplinary actions shall remain a matter of public record.

(3) A description of any final disciplinary actions taken by licensing boards in other states within the most recent 10 years, but in no event earlier than the year 1995.

This information shall come from the Federation of State Medical Boards or other national reporting agencies.

HB0252 Engrossed - 19 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b Information that is confidential in the reporting state shall not be included in the profile.

(4) A description of revocation or involuntary restriction of hospital privileges as required in subsection (A)(1) of Section 23.

Only cases that have occurred within the most recent 10 years shall be disclosed by the Disciplinary Board to the public.

(5) Names of medical schools and dates of graduation.

The Disciplinary Board shall provide each licensee with a copy of his or her profile prior to release to the public.

A licensee shall be provided a reasonable time to correct factual inaccuracies that appear in his or her profile.

(a-5) A licensee may elect to include in his or her profile the following information that shall be available for dissemination to the public:

(1) specialty board certification;

(2) number of years in practice;

(3) names of the hospitals where the licensee has privileges;

(4) appointments to medical school faculties and indication as to whether a licensee has had a responsibility for graduate medical education within the most recent 10 years;

(5) publications in peer-reviewed medical literature within the most recent 10 years;

(6) professional or community service activities and awards;

(7) the location of the licensee’s primary practice setting;

(8) the identification of any translating services that may be available at the licensee’s primary practice location;

and (9) an indication of whether the licensee participates in the Medicaid program.

(b) The Department shall maintain a toll free telephone line for responding to requests for information about the HB0252 Engrossed - 20 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b disciplinary records of physicians in Illinois.

(c) When collecting information or compiling reports intended to compare physicians, the Disciplinary Board shall require that:

(1) physicians shall be meaningfully involved in the development of all aspects of the profile methodology, including collection methods, formatting, and methods and means for release and dissemination;

(2) the entire methodology for collecting and analyzing the data shall be disclosed to all relevant physician organizations and to all physicians under review;

(3) data collection and analytical methodologies shall be used that meet accepted standards of validity and reliability;

(4) the limitations of the data sources and analytic methodologies used to develop physician profiles shall be clearly identified and acknowledged, including but not limited to the appropriate and inappropriate uses of the data;

(5) provider profiles and other information that have been compiled regarding physician performance shall be shared with physicians under review prior to dissemination provided that an opportunity for corrections and additions of helpful explanatory comments shall be afforded before publication, and provided further that the profiles shall include only data that reflect care under the control of the physician for whom the profile is prepared;

(6) comparisons among physician profiles shall adjust for patient case mix and other relevant risk factors and control for provider peer groups, when appropriate;

(7) effective safeguards to protect against the unauthorized use or disclosure of physician profiles shall be developed and implemented;

(8) effective safeguards to protect against the dissemination of inconsistent, incomplete, invalid, HB0252 Engrossed - 21 - LRB094 04119 RAS 34139 b inaccurate, or subjective profile data shall be developed and implemented;

(9) the quality and accuracy of physician profiles, data sources, and methodologies shall be evaluated regularly;

and (10) only the most basic identifying information from mandatory reports may be used, and details about a patient or personal details about a physician not already a matter of public record through another source must not be released.

Section 99.