| (a) If the preliminary investigation finds that there
is probable cause to indicate that an act by a licensee/registrant
fell below the minimum standard of care, the relevant information
and records collected by board staff shall be reviewed by a panel
of experts during the official investigation. Each panel of experts
shall include an initial and second reviewer and, if necessary, a
third reviewer. The panel of experts for an investigation shall be
selected from members of the Dental Review Panel.
(b) Composition and Duties. The Dental Review Panel
shall be composed of dentists and dental hygienists appointed by the
board to assist with complaints and investigations relating to professional
competency by acting as expert dentist and dental hygienist reviewers.
(c) Qualifications. To be eligible to serve on the
Dental Review Panel, a dentist or dental hygienist must meet the following
criteria:
(1) licensed in Texas to practice dentistry or dental
hygiene;
(2) no history of disciplinary action by the board
in the ten years prior to application;
(3) acceptable malpractice complaint history;
(4) in active practice currently and at the time of
the alleged violation, or supervising clinical care in an academic
setting;
(5) demonstrated knowledge of accepted standards of
dental care for the diagnosis, care and treatment related to the alleged
violation; and
(6) demonstrated training or experience to offer an
expert opinion regarding accepted standards of dental care.
(d) Term; Resignation; Removal.
(1) An expert reviewer shall serve on the Dental Review
Panel until resignation or removal from the Dental Review Panel or
non-renewal of contract.
(2) An expert reviewer may resign from the Dental Review
Panel at any time.
(3) An expert reviewer may be removed from the Dental
Review Panel for good cause at any time on order of the Executive
Director. Good cause for removal includes:
(A) failure to maintain the eligibility requirements
set forth in subsection (c) of this section;
(B) failure to inform the board of potential or apparent
conflicts of interest;
(C) repeated failure to timely review complaints or
timely submit reports to the board;
(D) repeated failure to prepare the reports in the
prescribed format; and
(E) direct contact with the complainant or the respondent.
(e) The presiding officer or board secretary may make
an interim appointment of an expert reviewer to serve the board until
the reviewer can be considered for appointment by the board at the
next board meeting.
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