Public Act 097-0449
 
HB1476 EnrolledLRB097 06656 CEL 46742 b

    AN ACT concerning professional regulation.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Medical Practice Act of 1987 is amended by
changing Sections 23 and 36 as follows:
 
    (225 ILCS 60/23)  (from Ch. 111, par. 4400-23)
    (Section scheduled to be repealed on November 30, 2011)
    (Text of Section WITH the changes made by P.A. 94-677,
which has been held unconstitutional, and by P.A. 96-1372,
which amended language added by P.A. 94-677)
    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 are 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
    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 it of all instances
    in which a person, licensed under this Act, who is impaired
    by reason of age, drug or alcohol abuse or 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
    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:
        (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 and date of birth of any patient or
    patients whose treatment is a subject of the report, if
    available, or other means of identification if such
    information is not available, identification of the
    hospital or other healthcare facility where the care at
    issue in the report was rendered, provided, however, no
    medical records may be revealed.
        (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 Disciplinary Board or Department may also 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. 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. 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, except that the
Department may disclose information and documents to a federal,
State, or local law enforcement agency pursuant to a subpoena
in an ongoing criminal investigation or to a health care
licensing body of this State or another state or jurisdiction
pursuant to an official request made by that licensing body.
Furthermore, information and documents disclosed to a federal,
State, or local law enforcement agency may be used by that
agency only for the investigation and prosecution of a criminal
offense, or, in the case of disclosure to a health care
licensing body, only for investigations and disciplinary
action proceedings with regard to a license. Information and
documents disclosed to the Department of Public Health may be
used by that Department only for investigation and disciplinary
action regarding the license of a health care institution
licensed by the Department of Public Health.
    (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 a peer
review committee, or assisting in the investigation or
preparation of such information, or by voluntarily reporting to
the Disciplinary Board or a peer review committee information
regarding alleged errors or negligence by a person licensed
under this Act, or by participating in proceedings of the
Disciplinary Board or a peer review committee, or by serving as
a member of the Disciplinary Board or a peer review committee,
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
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 person who is the
subject of the report shall also submit with the written
statement any medical records related to the report. The
statement and accompanying medical records shall become a
permanent part of the file and must be received by the
Disciplinary Board no more than 30 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
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 Secretary. The Secretary
shall then have 30 days to accept the Medical Disciplinary
Board's decision or request further investigation. The
Secretary 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
Secretary of any final action on their report or complaint. The
Department shall disclose to the individual or entity who filed
the original report or complaint, on request, the status of the
Disciplinary Board's review of a specific report or complaint.
Such request may be made at any time, including prior to the
Disciplinary Board's determination as to whether there are
sufficient facts to warrant further investigation or action.
    (F) Summary reports. The Disciplinary Board shall prepare,
on a timely basis, but in no event less than once every other
month, a summary report of final actions taken upon
disciplinary files maintained by the Disciplinary Board. The
summary reports shall be made available to the public upon
request and payment of the fees set by the Department. This
publication may be made available to the public on the
Department's Internet website.
    (G) Any violation of this Section shall be a Class A
misdemeanor.
    (H) If any such person violates the provisions of this
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. 94-677, eff. 8-25-05; 95-639, eff. 10-5-07;
96-1372, eff. 7-29-10.)
 
    (Text of Section WITHOUT the changes made by P.A. 94-677,
which has been held unconstitutional, and by P.A. 96-1372,
which amended language added by P.A. 94-677)
    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 are 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
    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 it of all instances
    in which a person, licensed under this Act, who is impaired
    by reason of age, drug or alcohol abuse or 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
    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:
        (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. 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
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
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. The
Department shall disclose to the individual or entity who filed
the original report or complaint, on request, the status of the
Disciplinary Board's review of a specific report or complaint.
Such request may be made at any time, including prior to the
Disciplinary Board's determination as to whether there are
sufficient facts to warrant further investigation or action.
    (F) Summary reports. The Disciplinary Board shall prepare,
on a timely basis, but in no event less than once every other
month, a summary report of final actions taken upon
disciplinary files maintained by the Disciplinary Board. The
summary reports shall be made available to the public upon
request and payment of the fees set by the Department. This
publication may be made available to the public on the
Department's Internet website.
    (G) Any violation of this Section shall be a Class A
misdemeanor.
    (H) If any such person violates the provisions of this
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. 95-639, eff. 10-5-07.)
 
    (225 ILCS 60/36)  (from Ch. 111, par. 4400-36)
    (Section scheduled to be repealed on November 30, 2011)
    (Text of Section WITH the changes made by P.A. 94-677,
which has been held unconstitutional, and by P.A. 96-1372,
which amended language added by P.A. 94-677)
    Sec. 36. Upon the motion of either the Department or the
Disciplinary Board or upon the verified complaint in writing of
any person setting forth facts which, if proven, would
constitute grounds for suspension or revocation under Section
22 of this Act, the Department shall investigate the actions of
any person, so accused, who holds or represents that they hold
a license. Such person is hereinafter called the accused.
    The Department shall, before suspending, revoking, placing
on probationary status, or taking any other disciplinary action
as the Department may deem proper with regard to any license at
least 30 days prior to the date set for the hearing, notify the
accused in writing of any charges made and the time and place
for a hearing of the charges before the Disciplinary Board,
direct them to file their written answer thereto to the
Disciplinary Board under oath within 20 days after the service
on them of such notice and inform them that if they fail to
file such answer default will be taken against them and their
license may be suspended, revoked, placed on probationary
status, or have other disciplinary action, including limiting
the scope, nature or extent of their practice, as the
Department may deem proper taken with regard thereto. The
Department shall, at least 14 days prior to the date set for
the hearing, notify in writing any person who filed a complaint
against the accused of the time and place for the hearing of
the charges against the accused before the Disciplinary Board
and inform such person whether he or she may provide testimony
at the hearing.
    Where a physician has been found, upon complaint and
investigation of the Department, and after hearing, to have
performed an abortion procedure in a wilful and wanton manner
upon a woman who was not pregnant at the time such abortion
procedure was performed, the Department shall automatically
revoke the license of such physician to practice medicine in
Illinois.
    Such written notice and any notice in such proceedings
thereafter may be served by delivery of the same, personally,
to the accused person, or by mailing the same by registered or
certified mail to the address last theretofore specified by the
accused in their last notification to the Department.
    All information gathered by the Department during its
investigation including information subpoenaed under Section
23 or 38 of this Act and the investigative file shall be kept
for the confidential use of the Secretary, Disciplinary Board,
the Medical Coordinators, persons employed by contract to
advise the Medical Coordinator or the Department, 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, except that the Department
may disclose information and documents to a federal, State, or
local law enforcement agency pursuant to a subpoena in an
ongoing criminal investigation to a health care licensing body
of this State or another state or jurisdiction pursuant to an
official request made by that licensing body. Furthermore,
information and documents disclosed to a federal, State, or
local law enforcement agency may be used by that agency only
for the investigation and prosecution of a criminal offense or,
in the case of disclosure to a health care licensing body, only
for investigations and disciplinary action proceedings with
regard to a license issued by that licensing body.
(Source: P.A. 94-677, eff. 8-25-05; 96-1372, eff. 7-29-10.)
 
    (Text of Section WITHOUT the changes made by P.A. 94-677,
which has been held unconstitutional, and by P.A. 96-1372,
which amended language added by P.A. 94-677)
    Sec. 36. Upon the motion of either the Department or the
Disciplinary Board or upon the verified complaint in writing of
any person setting forth facts which, if proven, would
constitute grounds for suspension or revocation under Section
22 of this Act, the Department shall investigate the actions of
any person, so accused, who holds or represents that they hold
a license. Such person is hereinafter called the accused.
    The Department shall, before suspending, revoking, placing
on probationary status, or taking any other disciplinary action
as the Department may deem proper with regard to any license at
least 30 days prior to the date set for the hearing, notify the
accused in writing of any charges made and the time and place
for a hearing of the charges before the Disciplinary Board,
direct them to file their written answer thereto to the
Disciplinary Board under oath within 20 days after the service
on them of such notice and inform them that if they fail to
file such answer default will be taken against them and their
license may be suspended, revoked, placed on probationary
status, or have other disciplinary action, including limiting
the scope, nature or extent of their practice, as the
Department may deem proper taken with regard thereto. The
Department shall, at least 14 days prior to the date set for
the hearing, notify in writing any person who filed a complaint
against the accused of the time and place for the hearing of
the charges against the accused before the Disciplinary Board
and inform such person whether he or she may provide testimony
at the hearing.
    Where a physician has been found, upon complaint and
investigation of the Department, and after hearing, to have
performed an abortion procedure in a wilful and wanton manner
upon a woman who was not pregnant at the time such abortion
procedure was performed, the Department shall automatically
revoke the license of such physician to practice medicine in
Illinois.
    Such written notice and any notice in such proceedings
thereafter may be served by delivery of the same, personally,
to the accused person, or by mailing the same by registered or
certified mail to the address last theretofore specified by the
accused in their last notification to the Department.
    All information gathered by the Department during its
investigation including information subpoenaed under Section
23 or 38 of this Act and the investigative file shall be kept
for the confidential use of the Director, Disciplinary Board,
the Medical Coordinators, persons employed by contract to
advise the Medical Coordinator or the Department, 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.
(Source: P.A. 90-699, eff. 1-1-99.)