| (a) The licensee must display a department-approved
sign or provide to all patients and consumers a brochure that notifies
consumers or recipients of services of the name, mailing address,
website, and telephone number of the department and a statement informing
consumers or recipients of services that complaints against a licensee
can be directed to the department.
(b) The sign shall be conspicuously and prominently
displayed in a location where it may be seen by all patients. The
consumer brochure, if chosen, must be prominently displayed and available
to patients and consumers at all times.
(c) Each defendant practitioner against whom a professional
liability claim or complaint has been filed must report the claim
or complaint to the department. The information is to be reported
by insurers or other entities providing medical professional liability
insurance for a practitioner. If an insurance carrier does not adequately
report, reporting shall be the responsibility of the practitioner.
(d) One separate report shall be filed for each defendant
insured practitioner.
(e) The information must be provided within 30 days
of receipt of the claim or suit. A copy of the claim letter or petition
must be attached.
(f) The information reported must contain at least
the requested data as follows:
(1) There must be enough identification data available
to enable department staff to match the closure report to the original
file. The data required to accomplish this include:
(A) name and license number of defendant practitioner(s);
and
(B) name of plaintiff; or
(2) A court order or settlement agreement is acceptable
and should contain the necessary information to match the closure
information to the original file.
(g) Failure by a licensed insurer to report under this
section shall be referred to the Texas Department of Insurance and
sanctions under the Texas Insurance Code maybe imposed for failure
to report.
(h) For the purposes of this section a professional
liability claim or complaint shall be defined as a cause of action
against a practitioner for treatment, or other claimed departure from
accepted standards of medical or health care or safety which proximately
results in injury to or death of the patient, whether the patient's
claim or cause of action sounds in tort or contract to include interns,
residents, supervising practitioner, on-call practitioner, consulting
practitioner, and those practitioner who administer, read, or interpret
laboratory tests, x-rays, and other diagnostic studies.
(i) Claims that are not required to be reported under
this chapter but which may be reported include, but are not limited
to, the following:
(1) Product liability claims;
(2) antitrust allegations;
(3) allegations involving improper peer review activities;
(4) civil rights violations;
(5) allegations of liability for injuries occurring
on a podiatric physician's property, but not involving a breach of
duty in the podiatric physician-patient relationship; or
(6) business disputes.
(j) Claims that are not required to be reported under
this chapter may however be voluntarily reported pursuant to the provisions
of the Act.
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