Provides that the director of the office of professional medical conduct shall meet with complainants, when requested by the complainant, to review materials to be considered by the board for professional medical conduct when considering complaints of misconduct.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
194
2009-2010 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 7, 2009
___________
Introduced by M. of A. LATIMER, SPANO, J. RIVERA, GALEF -- Multi-Spon-
sored by -- M. of A. WEISENBERG -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to investigations of
professional medical conduct
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a) of subdivision 10 of
2 section 230 of the public health law, as amended by chapter 542 of the
3 laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows:
4 (i) The board for professional medical conduct, by the director of the
5 office of professional medical conduct, may investigate on its own any
6 suspected professional misconduct, and shall investigate each complaint
7 received regardless of the source. The director of the office of
8 professional medical conduct, when requested by a complainant, shall
9 meet with the complainant to review materials to be considered by the
10 board in its review of suspected professional medical misconduct. The
11 director of the office of professional medical conduct shall cause a
12 preliminary review of every report made to the department pursuant to
13 section twenty-eight hundred three-e as added by chapter eight hundred
14 sixty-six of the laws of nineteen hundred eighty, sections twenty-eight
15 hundred five-l and forty-four hundred five-b of this chapter, and
16 section three hundred fifteen of the insurance law, to determine if such
17 report reasonably appears to reflect physician conduct warranting
18 further investigation pursuant to this subparagraph.
19 § 2. Paragraph (e) of subdivision 10 of section 230 of the public
20 health law, as amended by chapter 606 of the laws of 1991, is amended to
21 read as follows:
22 (e) Committee hearing. The hearing shall be conducted by a committee
23 on professional conduct. At least twenty-five percent of such committee
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01188-01-9
A. 194 2
1 shall be non-medical personnel. The members of the hearing committee
2 shall be appointed by the chairperson of the board who shall designate
3 the committee chairperson. In addition to said committee members, the
4 commissioner shall designate an administrative officer, admitted to
5 practice as an attorney in the state of New York, who shall have the
6 authority to rule on all motions, including motions to compel disclosure
7 of information or material claimed to be protected because of privilege
8 or confidentiality, procedures and other legal objections and shall
9 draft the conclusions of the hearing committee pursuant to paragraph (g)
10 of this subdivision. The administrative officer shall have the authori-
11 ty to rule on objections to questions posed by either party or the
12 committee members. The administrative officer shall not be entitled to
13 vote.
14 § 3. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
15 have become a law. Provided, that effective immediately, the addition,
16 amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the
17 implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized and
18 directed to be made and completed by the commissioner of health on or
19 before such effective date; and provided, further, that the amendments
20 to subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a) of subdivision 10 of section 230 of
21 the public health law made by section one of this act shall not affect
22 the expiration of such paragraph and shall be deemed to expire there-
23 with.
