State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
Legislation

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[ House Amendment 001 ]

91_HB4075

 
                                               LRB9110287ACpr

 1        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  Medical  Practice Act of 1987 by
 2    adding Section 23.1.

 3        Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
 4    represented in the General Assembly:

 5        Section   5.  The Medical Practice Act of 1987 is amended
 6    by adding Section 23.1 as follows:

 7        (225 ILCS 60/23.1 new)
 8        Sec. 23.1.  Public disclosure of disciplinary records.
 9        (a)  The Disciplinary Board shall collect  the  following
10    information  to create individual profiles on licensees, in a
11    format created  by  the  Disciplinary  Board  that  shall  be
12    available for dissemination to the public:
13             (1)  a  description  of any criminal convictions for
14        felonies and serious misdemeanors as  determined  by  the
15        Disciplinary Board, within the most recent 10 years.  For
16        the purposes of this item, a person shall be deemed to be
17        convicted of a crime if he or she pled guilty or if he or
18        she  was found or adjudged guilty by a court of competent
19        jurisdiction;
20             (2)  a  description  of  any  charges  to  which   a
21        physician  pleads  nolo contendere or where a disposition
22        of  supervision  is  made  by  a   court   of   competent
23        jurisdiction, within the most recent 10 years;
24             (3)  a description of any final disciplinary actions
25        taken by the Disciplinary Board within the most recent 10
26        years;
27             (4)  a description of any final disciplinary actions
28        taken by licensing boards in other states within the most
29        recent 10 years;
30             (5)  a  description  of  revocation  or  involuntary
31        restriction of hospital privileges for reasons related to
 
                            -2-                LRB9110287ACpr
 1        competence  or  character  that  have  been  taken by the
 2        hospital's governing body or any other  official  of  the
 3        hospital  after procedural due process has been afforded,
 4        the resignation  from  or  nonrenewal  of  medical  staff
 5        membership,   or  the  restriction  of  privileges  at  a
 6        hospital taken in lieu of or in settlement of  a  pending
 7        disciplinary  case  related to competence or character in
 8        that hospital.  Only cases that have occurred within  the
 9        most   recent   10   years  shall  be  disclosed  by  the
10        Disciplinary Board to the public;
11             (6)  all  medical   malpractice   court   judgments,
12        medical  malpractice  arbitration awards, and settlements
13        of medical malpractice claims in which a payment is  made
14        to  a complaining party, within the most recent 10 years.
15        Dispositions of  paid  claims  shall  be  reported  in  a
16        minimum of 3 graduated categories indicating the level of
17        significance  of  the  award  or settlement.  Information
18        concerning paid medical malpractice claims shall  be  put
19        in  context by comparing an individual licensee's medical
20        malpractice   judgment   and   arbitration   awards   and
21        settlements to the experience of other  licensees  within
22        the  same  specialty.  Information concerning settlements
23        shall  be  accompanied  by   the   following   statement:
24        "Settlement of a claim may occur for a variety of reasons
25        which  do  not  necessarily  reflect  negatively  on  the
26        professional  competence  or conduct of the physician.  A
27        payment in settlement of a medical malpractice action  or
28        claim  should  not be construed as creating a presumption
29        that medical malpractice has occurred."  Nothing in  this
30        Section  shall  be  construed  to  limit  or  prevent the
31        Disciplinary Board  from  providing  further  explanatory
32        information  regarding  the significance of categories in
33        which settlements are reported.
34             Pending malpractice claims shall not be disclosed by
 
                            -3-                LRB9110287ACpr
 1        the Disciplinary Board to the public.   Nothing  in  this
 2        Section  shall  be  construed to prevent the Disciplinary
 3        Board from investigating and disciplining a  licensee  on
 4        the basis of medical malpractice claims that are pending;
 5        and
 6             (7)  names   of   medical   schools   and  dates  of
 7        graduation.
 8        The Disciplinary Board shall provide each licensee with a
 9    copy of his or her profile prior to release to the public.  A
10    licensee shall be  provided  a  reasonable  time  to  correct
11    factual inaccuracies that appear in his or her profile.
12        (a-5)  A  licensee  may  elect  to  include in his or her
13    profile the following information that shall be available for
14    dissemination to the public:
15             (1)  specialty board certification;
16             (2)  number of years in practice;
17             (3)  names of the hospitals where the  licensee  has
18        privileges;
19             (4)  appointments  to  medical  school faculties and
20        indication  as  to  whether  a   licensee   has   had   a
21        responsibility  for graduate medical education within the
22        most recent 10 years;
23             (5)  publications    in    peer-reviewed     medical
24        literature within the most recent 10 years;
25             (6)  professional  or  community  service activities
26        and awards;
27             (7)  the location of the licensee's primary practice
28        setting;
29             (8)  the identification of any translating  services
30        that  may be available at the licensee's primary practice
31        location; and
32             (9)  an   indication   of   whether   the   licensee
33        participates in the Medicaid program.
34        (b)  The Department shall maintain a toll free  telephone
 
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 1    line  for  responding  to  requests for information about the
 2    disciplinary records of physicians in Illinois.
 3        (c)  When collecting  information  or  compiling  reports
 4    intended  to compare physicians, the Disciplinary Board shall
 5    require that:
 6             (1)  physicians shall be  meaningfully  involved  in
 7        the   development   of   all   aspects   of  the  profile
 8        methodology, including  collection  methods,  formatting,
 9        and methods and means for release and dissemination;
10             (2)  the   entire  methodology  for  collecting  and
11        analyzing the data shall be  disclosed  to  all  relevant
12        physician  organizations  and  to  all  physicians  under
13        review;
14             (3)  data  collection  and  analytical methodologies
15        shall be used that meet accepted  standards  of  validity
16        and reliability;
17             (4)  the   limitations   of  the  data  sources  and
18        analytic methodologies used to develop physician profiles
19        shall be clearly identified and  acknowledged,  including
20        but not limited to the appropriate and inappropriate uses
21        of the data;
22             (5)  to  the  greatest  extent  possible,  physician
23        profiling  initiatives  shall  use  standard-based  norms
24        derived from widely accepted, provider-developed practice
25        guidelines;
26             (6)  provider  profiles  and  other information that
27        have been compiled regarding physician performance  shall
28        be   shared   with   physicians  under  review  prior  to
29        dissemination   provided   that   an   opportunity    for
30        corrections and additions of helpful explanatory comments
31        shall   be  afforded  before  publication,  and  provided
32        further that the profiles shall include  only  data  that
33        reflect  care under the control of the physician for whom
34        the profile is prepared;
 
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 1             (7)  comparisons  among  physician  profiles   shall
 2        adjust  for  patient  case  mix  and  other relevant risk
 3        factors  and  control  for  provider  peer  groups,  when
 4        appropriate;
 5             (8)  effective safeguards  to  protect  against  the
 6        unauthorized  use  or  disclosure  of  physician profiles
 7        shall be developed and implemented;
 8             (9)  effective safeguards  to  protect  against  the
 9        dissemination   of   inconsistent,  incomplete,  invalid,
10        inaccurate, or subjective profile data shall be developed
11        and implemented; and
12             (10)  the  quality   and   accuracy   of   physician
13        profiles,   data  sources,  and  methodologies  shall  be
14        evaluated regularly.

15        Section 99.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect  upon
16    becoming law.

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