BILL NUMBER: AB 900 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 25, 2001
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Papan
FEBRUARY 23, 2001
An act to amend Section 805 of the Business and
Professions Code, relating to the healing arts. An act
to amend Section 127775 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to
health personnel.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 900, as amended, Papan. Healing arts: peer review
Health personnel planning .
Existing law authorizes the Office of Statewide Health Planning
and Development to receive, and authorizes the Medical Board of
California to provide, certain information respecting individual
licentiates.
This bill would declare that the Legislature urges the office to
receive, and the board to provide, information regarding a physician'
s specialty board certification and his or her practice status. This
act would become effective only if AB 1586 is enacted and other
conditions are met. The bill would also make technical,
nonsubstantive changes.
Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, provides for the licensure
and regulation by the Medical Board of California of the practice of
physicians and surgeons. Under that act, the board, through its
Division of Medical Quality, is authorized to take disciplinary
action against a physician and surgeon for the commission of
specified acts of misconduct.
Existing law also provides for a process of peer review of the
practices of physicians and surgeons, as well as other specified
healing arts practitioners. Under existing law, the peer review
body, which is defined as including, among other entities, a health
care service plan, is required to file with the practitioner's
licensing board a report, designated as an "805 report," within 15
days of certain disciplinary actions having been taken against a
practitioner as a result of its proceedings. Existing law makes it a
public offense to intentionally fail to comply with this reporting
requirement. However, a health care service plan is excused from
making an 805 report if another peer review body is required to file
one.
This bill would excuse a peer review body from filing an 805
report if the Medical Board of California has taken disciplinary
action against the physician and surgeon for the same conduct. The
bill would also include a disability insurer that contracts with
specified healing arts practitioners to provide services at
alternative rates of payment as a peer review body and would prohibit
a health care service plan and a disability insurer from cancelling
or conditioning a contract with a physician and surgeon on the basis
of his or her being the subject of an 805 report. The bill
additionally would recast provisions pertaining to the time within
which a peer review body is required to file the 805 report.
Because this bill would make an additional entity subject to
punishment for intentionally failing to file an 805 report, it would
expand the scope of an existing crime, thereby imposing a
state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:
yes no . State-mandated local program:
yes no .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 805 of the Business and Professions
SECTION 1. Section 127775 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
127775. Notwithstanding Sections 922 and 925 of the
Business and Professions Code, the (a) The
office may receive, and the Medical Board of California may provide,
information respecting individual licentiates collected
pursuant to Sections 921 and 923 of the Business and Professions Code
.
Information
(b) Information provided to the office pursuant to this
section shall be transmitted in a form so that the name or license
number of an individual licensee is not identifiable. However, an
encoding procedure shall be used to assign a unique identifying
number to the other information provided upon the questionnaire so as
to allow the office to track the geographical movements of
physicians for planning purposes.
(c) The Legislature hereby urges the office to receive, and the
board to provide, the information required by Section 2425.1 of the
Business and Professions Code.
SEC. 2. This act shall not become effective unless AB 1586 of the
2000-01 Regular Session is enacted and adds Section 2425.1 to the
Business and Professions Code. Code is amended to
read:
805. (a) As used in this section, the following terms have the
following definitions:
(1) "Peer review body" includes:
(A) A medical or professional staff of any health care facility or
clinic licensed under Division 2 (commencing with Section 1200) of
the Health and Safety Code or of a facility certified to participate
in the federal Medicare program as an ambulatory surgical center.
(B) A health care service plan registered under Chapter 2.2
(commencing with Section 1340) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety
Code or a disability insurer that contracts with licentiates to
provide services at alternative rates of payment pursuant to Section
10133 of the Insurance Code.
(C) Any medical, psychological, marriage and family therapy,
social work, dental, or podiatric professional society having as
members at least 25 percent of the eligible licentiates in the area
in which it functions (which must include at least one county), that
is not organized for profit and that has been determined to be exempt
from taxes pursuant to Section 23701 of the Revenue and Taxation
Code.
(D) A committee organized by any entity consisting of or employing
more than 25 licentiates of the same class that functions for the
purpose of reviewing the quality of professional care provided by
members or employees of that entity.
(2) "Licentiate" means a physician and surgeon, podiatrist,
clinical psychologist, marriage and family therapist, clinical social
worker, or dentist. "Licentiate" also includes a person authorized
to practice medicine pursuant to Section 2113.
(3) "Agency" means the relevant state licensing agency having
regulatory jurisdiction over the licentiates listed in paragraph (2).
(4) "Staff privileges" means any arrangement under which a
licentiate is allowed to practice in or provide care for patients in
a health facility. Those arrangements shall include, but are not
limited to, full staff privileges, active staff privileges, limited
staff privileges, auxiliary staff privileges, provisional staff
privileges, temporary staff privileges, courtesy staff privileges,
locum tenens arrangements, and contractual arrangements to provide
professional services, including, but not limited to, arrangements to
provide outpatient services.
(5) "Denial or termination of staff privileges, membership, or
employment" includes failure or refusal to renew a contract or to
renew, extend, or reestablish any staff privileges, when the action
is based on medical disciplinary cause or reason.
(6) "Medical disciplinary cause or reason" means that aspect of a
licentiate's competence or professional conduct that is reasonably
likely to be detrimental to patient safety or to the delivery of
patient care.
(7) "805 report" means the written report required under
subdivision (b).
(b) The chief of staff of a medical or professional staff or other
chief executive officer, medical director, or administrator of any
peer review body and the chief executive officer or administrator of
any licensed health care facility or clinic shall file an 805 report
with the relevant agency within 15 days after any of the following
takes place as a result of an action of a peer review body:
(1) A licentiate's application for staff privileges or membership
is denied or rejected for a medical disciplinary cause or reason.
(2) A licentiate's membership, staff privileges, or employment is
terminated or revoked for a medical disciplinary cause or reason.
(3) Restrictions are imposed, or voluntarily accepted, on staff
privileges, membership, or employment for a cumulative total of 30
days or more for any 12-month period, for a medical disciplinary
cause or reason.
(4) A summary suspension of 15 or more days in duration of the
licentiate's employment or of the licentiate's staff privileges or
membership, for a medical disciplinary cause or reason.
(5) A licentiate resigns or takes a leave of absence from
membership, staff, or employment following notice of an impending
investigation based on information indicating medical disciplinary
cause or reason.
If a licentiate requests a hearing pursuant to Section 809.2, no
805 report shall be filed by a peer review body unless the trier of
fact at that hearing sustains the denial, termination, rejection,
restriction, resignation, revocation, suspension, or leave of
absence. If the trier of fact sustains the action, the peer review
body, within 15 days of that decision, shall file the 805 report
without regard to any filing for judicial review of the decision
issued in that hearing.
A copy of the 805 report, and a notice advising the licentiate of
his or her right to submit additional statements or other information
pursuant to Section 800, shall be sent by the peer review body to
the licentiate named in the report.
The information to be reported in an 805 report shall include the
name of the licentiate involved, a description of the facts and
circumstances of the medical disciplinary cause or reason, and any
other relevant information deemed appropriate by the reporter.
A supplemental report shall also be made within 30 days following
the date the licentiate is deemed to have satisfied any terms,
conditions, or sanctions imposed as disciplinary action by the
reporting peer review body. In performing its dissemination
functions required by Section 805.5, the agency shall include a copy
of a supplemental report, if any, whenever it furnishes a copy of the
original 805 report.
If another peer review body is required to file an 805 report, a
health care service plan is not required to file a separate report
with respect to action attributable to the same medical disciplinary
cause or reason. If the Medical Board of California revokes or
suspends the license of a physician and surgeon or takes any other
disciplinary action against him or her, a peer review body is not
required to file an 805 report with respect to action attributable to
the same medical disciplinary cause or reason.
(c) The reporting required herein shall not act as a waiver of
confidentiality of medical records and committee reports. The
information reported or disclosed shall be kept confidential except
as provided in subdivision (c) of Section 800 and Sections 803.1 and
2027, provided that a copy of the report containing the information
required by this section may be disclosed as required by Section
805.5 with respect to reports received on or after January 1, 1976.
(d) The Medical Board of California, the Osteopathic Medical Board
of California, and the Dental Board of California shall disclose
reports as required by Section 805.5.
(e) An 805 report shall be maintained by an agency for
dissemination purposes for a period of three years after receipt.
(f) No person shall incur any civil or criminal liability as the
result of making any report required by this section.
(g) An intentional failure to make a report pursuant to this
section is a public offense punishable by a fine not to exceed ten
thousand dollars ($10,000).
(h) A failure by the administrator of any peer review body or the
chief executive officer or administrator of any health care facility
who is designated to transmit a report pursuant to this section
whether or not the failure is intentional is punishable by a civil
penalty not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000) per violation
payable to the board with jurisdiction over the licensee in any
action brought by the Attorney General.
(i) A health care service plan registered under Chapter 2.2
(commencing with Section 1340) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety
Code or a disability insurer shall not include in any contract with
a physician and surgeon a term cancelling the contract or imposing
any additional condition on a physician and surgeon based on his or
her being the subject of an 805 report.
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the
only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district
will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction,
eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime
or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government
Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.