(a)A complainant may initiate a complaint by submitting the information concerning the complaint to the board. This information should include at a minimum: (1)The name and contact information of the complainant; (2)The name of the licensee against who the complaint is filed; (3)The time and place of the alleged violation of the Act; and (4)If applicable, the name and birth date of the patient who the physician has allegedly harmed. (b)The board may file a complaint on its own initiative. (c)The identity of a complainant, as well as the complaint itself, is part of the investigative information gathered by board employees and shall remain confidential. All complaints must provide sufficient information to identify the source or the name of the person who filed the complaint. Confidentiality shall be waived only by a written statement of the complainant specifically waiving confidentiality or by the complainant testifying in a contested case hearing. Notwithstanding the previous provisions, the name and address of an insurance agent, insurer, pharmaceutical company or third-party administrator that files a complaint against a physician shall be reported to the subject physician within 15 days of receipt by the board, unless the notice would jeopardize an investigation. (d)A peer review committee, licensee, and all other groups named in §§160.003, 204.208, 205.304, and 206.159 of the Act shall report relevant information to the board relating to the acts of the licensee in this state if, in their opinion, that licensee poses a continuing threat to the public welfare through the licensee's continued practice. The report shall include a narrative statement describing the time, date, and place of the acts or omissions on which the report is based; and it shall be made to the board as soon as possible after the threat is identified and the relevant information can be assembled.
This agency hereby certifies that the proposal has
been
reviewed by legal counsel and found to be within the agency's
legal authority to adopt.
Filed with the Office
of the Secretary of State on September 19, 2011
TRD-201103848 Mari Robinson, J.D.
Executive Director
Texas Medical Board
Earliest possible date of adoption: October 30, 2011
For further information, please call: (512) 305-7016
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