2013 Maryland Code
HEALTH OCCUPATIONS
§ 14-411 - Disclosure of records by Board or disciplinary panel.

§14-411.

(a) In this section, “record” means the proceedings, records, or files of the Board.

(b) Except as otherwise expressly provided in this section and § 14-411.1 of this subtitle, the Board or any of its investigatory bodies may not disclose any information contained in a record.

(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent or limit the disclosure of:

(1) General licensure, certification, or registration information maintained by the Board, if the request for release complies with the criteria of § 10-617(h) of the State Government Article;

(2) Profile information collected and disseminated under § 14-411.1 of this subtitle; or

(3) Personal and other identifying information of a licensee, as required by the National Practitioner Data Bank for participation in the proactive disclosure service.

(d) The Board shall disclose any information contained in a record to:

(1) A committee of a hospital, health maintenance organization, or related institution if:

(i) The committee of a medical hospital staff concerned with physician discipline or other committee of a hospital, health maintenance organization, or related institution requests the information in writing;

(ii) The Board has issued an order as to a licensed physician on whom the information is requested; and

(iii) The Board determines that the information requested is necessary for an investigation or action of the committee as to a medical privilege of a licensed physician; or

(2) The Secretary, the Office of Health Care Quality in the Department, or the Health Services Cost Review Commission for the purpose of investigating quality or utilization of care in any entity regulated by the Office of Health Care Quality or the Health Services Cost Review Commission.

(e) On or before January 1, 2013, the Board, the Secretary, the Maryland Health Care Commission, and the Health Services Cost Review Commission jointly shall adopt regulations for the efficient and secure transfer, under subsection (d)(2) of this section, of any information in a record that may indicate that an investigation of an entity regulated by the Office of Health Care Quality, the Maryland Health Care Commission, or the Health Services Cost Review Commission may be appropriate.

(f) Subsection (d)(2) of this section may not be construed to alter the authority of the Secretary under § 1-203(a) of this article or § 2-106(c) of the Health - General Article.

(g) (1) The Board shall notify all hospitals, health maintenance organizations, or other health care facilities where a physician or an allied health professional regulated by the Board has privileges, has a provider contract with a health maintenance organization, or is employed of a complaint or report filed against that physician, if:

(i) The Board determines, in its discretion, that the hospital, health maintenance organization, or health care facility should be informed about the report or complaint;

(ii) The nature of the complaint suggests a reasonable possibility of an imminent threat to patient safety; or

(iii) The complaint or report was as a result of a claim filed in the Health Care Alternative Dispute Resolution Office and a certificate of a qualified expert is filed in accordance with § 3-2A-04(b)(1) of the Courts Article.

(2) The Board shall disclose any information pertaining to a physician’s competency to practice medicine contained in record to a committee of a hospital, health maintenance organization, or other health care facility if:

(i) The committee is concerned with physician discipline and requests the information in writing; and

(ii) The Board has received a complaint or report pursuant to paragraph (1)(i) and (ii) of this subsection on the licensed physician on whom the information is requested.

(3) The Board shall, after formal action is taken pursuant to § 14-406 of this subtitle, notify those hospitals, health maintenance organizations, or health care facilities where the physician has privileges, has a provider contract with a health maintenance organization, or is employed of its formal action within 10 days after the action is taken and shall provide the hospital, health maintenance organization, or health care facility with periodic reports as to enforcement or monitoring of a formal disciplinary order against a physician within 10 days after receipt of those reports.

(h) On the request of a person who has made a complaint to the Board regarding a physician, the Board shall provide the person with information on the status of the complaint.

(i) Following the filing of charges or notice of initial denial of license application, the Board shall disclose the filing to the public.

(j) The Board may disclose any information contained in a record to a licensing or disciplinary authority of another state if:

(1) The licensing or disciplinary authority of another state that regulates licensed physicians in that state requests the information in writing; and

(2) The disclosure of any information is limited to the pendency of an allegation of a ground for disciplinary or other action by the Board until:

(i) The Board has passed an order under § 14-406 of this subtitle; or

(ii) A licensed physician on whom the information is requested authorizes a disclosure as to the facts of an allegation or the results of an investigation before the Board.

(k) The Board may disclose any information contained in a record to a person if:

(1) A licensed physician on whom any information is requested authorizes the person to receive the disclosure;

(2) The person requests the information in writing; and

(3) The authorization for the disclosure is in writing.

(l) The Board may disclose any information contained in a record to the State Medical Assistance Compliance Administration, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or the Secretary’s designee, or any health occupational regulatory board if:

(1) (i) The State Medical Assistance Compliance Administration or any health occupational regulatory board requests the information in writing; or

(ii) The Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or the Secretary’s designee is entitled to receive the information or have access to the information under 42 U.S.C. § 1396r-2;

(2) (i) The Board has issued an order under § 14-406 of this subtitle; or

(ii) An allegation is pending before the Board; and

(3) The Board determines that the requested information is necessary for the proper conduct of the business of that administration or board.

(m) If the Board determines that the information contained in a record concerns possible criminal activity, the Board shall disclose the information to a law enforcement or prosecutorial official.

(n) The Board may permit inspection of records for which inspection otherwise is not authorized by a person who is engaged in a research project if:

(1) The researcher submits to the executive director and the Board approves a written request that:

(i) Describes the purpose of the research project;

(ii) Describes the intent, if any, to publish the findings;

(iii) Describes the nature of the requested personal records;

(iv) Describes the safeguards that the researcher would take to protect the identity of the persons in interest; and

(v) States that persons in interest will not be contacted unless the executive director approves and monitors the contact;

(2) The executive director is satisfied that the proposed safeguards will prevent the disclosure of the identity of persons in interest; and

(3) The researcher makes an agreement with the executive director that:

(i) Defines the scope of the research project;

(ii) Sets out the safeguards for protecting the identity of the persons in interest; and

(iii) States that a breach of any condition of the agreement is a breach of contract.

(o) On the request of a person who has testified in a Board or Office of Administrative Hearings proceeding, the Board shall provide to the person who testified a copy of the portion of the transcript of that person’s testimony.

(p) (1) The Board may publish a summary of any allegations of grounds for disciplinary or other action.

(2) A summary may not identify:

(i) Any person who makes an allegation to the Board or any of its investigatory bodies;

(ii) A licensed physician about whom an allegation is made; or

(iii) A witness in an investigation or a proceeding before the Board or any of its investigatory bodies.

(q) The Board shall disclose information in a record upon the request of the Governor, Secretary, or Legislative Auditor, in accordance with § 2-1223(a) of the State Government Article. However, the Governor, Secretary, or Auditor, or any of their employees may not disclose personally identifiable information from any of these records which are otherwise confidential by law.

(r) This section does not apply to:

(1) Any disclosure of a record by the Board to any of its investigatory bodies; or

(2) A licensee, certificate holder, or registration holder who has been charged under this title or a party to a proceeding before the Board who claims to be aggrieved by the decision of the Board.

(s) If any information contained in any medical or hospital document or any other exhibit is otherwise open for disclosure under law, the use of that document or exhibit in any record of the Board or any of its investigatory bodies does not prevent its disclosure in any other proceeding.

§ 14-411 - 1. Individual licensee profiles -- Internet links

(a) "Health maintenance organization" defined. -- In this section, "health maintenance organization" has the meaning stated in § 19-701 of the Health - General Article.

(b) Contents of individual profiles. -- The Board shall create and maintain a public individual profile on each licensee that includes the following information:

(1) A summary of charges filed against the licensee, including a copy of the charging document, until a disciplinary panel has taken action under § 14-404 of this subtitle based on the charges or has rescinded the charges.

(2) A description of any disciplinary action taken by the Board or a disciplinary panel against the licensee within the most recent 10-year period that includes a copy of the public order;

(3) A description in summary form of any final disciplinary action taken by a licensing board in any other state or jurisdiction against the licensee within the most recent 10-year period;

(4) The number of medical malpractice final court judgments and arbitration awards against the licensee within the most recent 10-year period for which all appeals have been exhausted as reported to the Board;

(5) A description of a conviction or entry of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere by the licensee for a crime involving moral turpitude reported to the Board under § 14-416 of this subtitle; and

(6) Medical education and practice information about the licensee including:

(i) The name of any medical school that the licensee attended and the date on which the licensee graduated from the school;

(ii) A description of any internship and residency training;

(iii) A description of any specialty board certification by a recognized board of the American Board of Medical Specialties or the American Osteopathic Association;

(iv) The name of any hospital where the licensee has medical privileges as reported to the Board under § 14-413 of this subtitle;

(v) The location of the licensee's primary practice setting; and

(vi) Whether the licensee participates in the Maryland Medical Assistance Program.

(c) Internet links. -- In addition to the requirements of subsection (b) of this section, the Board shall:

(1) Provide appropriate and accessible Internet links from the Board's Internet site:

(i) To the extent available, to the appropriate portion of the Internet site of each health maintenance organization licensed in this State which will allow the public to ascertain the names of the physicians affiliated with the health maintenance organization; and

(ii) To the appropriate portion of the Internet site of the American Medical Association;

(2) Include a statement on each licensee's profile of information to be taken into consideration by a consumer when viewing a licensee's profile, including factors to consider when evaluating a licensee's malpractice data, and a disclaimer stating that a charging document does not indicate a final finding of guilt by a disciplinary panel; and

(3) Provide on the Board's Internet site:

(i) Notification that a person may contact the Board by telephone, electronic mail, or written request to find out whether the number of medical malpractice settlements involving a particular licensee totals three or more with a settlement amount of $ 150,000 or greater within the most recent 5-year period as reported to the Board; and

(ii) A telephone number, electronic mail address, and physical address through which a person may contact the Board to request the information required to be provided under item (i) of this item.

(d) Requests for information. -- The Board:

(1) On receipt of a written request for a licensee's profile from any person, shall forward a written copy of the profile to the person;

(2) Shall maintain a website that serves as a single point of entry where all physician profile information is available to the public on the Internet; and

(3) On receipt of a verbal, electronic, or written request in accordance with subsection (c)(3) of this section, shall provide the information within 2 business days of the request.

(e) Disclosure requirements. -- The Board shall provide a mechanism for the notification and prompt correction of any factual inaccuracies in a licensee's profile.

(f) Inclusion of final disciplinary action information in profile. -- The Board shall include information relating to charges filed against a licensee by a disciplinary panel and any final disciplinary action taken by a disciplinary panel against a licensee in the licensee's profile within 10 days after the charges are filed or the action becomes final.

(g) Construction with § 14-411. -- This section does not limit the Board's authority to disclose information as required under § 14-411 of this subtitle.