Grants immunity from liability to organizations which establish physician committees the purpose of which is to confront and refer to treatment physicians who are thought to be suffering from addiction or mental illness.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2995--A
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 28, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GOTTFRIED, ABINANTI, D'URSO, GALEF -- read once
and referred to the Committee on Health -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to granting immunity
from liability to organizations which establish physician committees
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (g) of subdivision 11 of section 230 of the
2 public health law, as added by chapter 426 of the laws of 1983, subpara-
3 graphs (ii) and (iii) as amended by chapter 606 of the laws of 1991,
4 subparagraphs (v) and (vi) as added by chapter 582 of the laws of 1984,
5 is amended to read as follows:
6 (g) (i) Any physician committee of the Medical Society of the State of
7 New York, the New York State Osteopathic Society or a county medical
8 society referred to in subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (c) of this subdi-
9 vision shall develop procedures in consultation with, and approved by,
10 the commissioner [of the department of health], including but not limit-
11 ed to the following:
12 [(i)] (A) The committee shall disclose at least once a month such
13 information as the director of the office of professional medical
14 conduct may deem appropriate regarding reports received, contacts or
15 investigations made and the disposition of each report, provided however
16 that the committee shall not disclose any personally identifiable infor-
17 mation except as provided in [subparagraph (ii)] clause (B) or [subpara-
18 graph (iii)] (C) of this [paragraph] subparagraph.
19 [(ii)] (B) The committee shall immediately report to the director the
20 name, all information obtained and the results of any contact or inves-
21 tigation regarding any physician who is believed to be an imminent
22 danger to the public.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03386-02-9
A. 2995--A 2
1 [(iii)] (C) The committee shall report to the director in a timely
2 fashion all information obtained regarding any physician who refuses to
3 cooperate with the committee, refuses to submit to treatment, or whose
4 impairment is not substantially alleviated through treatment.
5 [(iv)] (D) The committee shall inform each physician who is partic-
6 ipating in a program of the procedures followed in the program, of the
7 rights and responsibilities of the physician in the program and of the
8 possible results of noncompliance with the program.
9 [(v)] (ii) No member of any such committee; nor the Medical Society of
10 the State of New York, the New York State Osteopathic Society or a coun-
11 ty medical society referred to in subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (c) of
12 this subdivision that establishes a committee; nor any agent, servant,
13 representative or employee that provides service to any such committee
14 or society, shall be liable for damages to any person for any action
15 taken by such committee, society, member, agent, servant, representative
16 or employee provided that such action was taken without malice and with-
17 in the scope of such [member's] individual's or entity's function [as a
18 member of] in relation to such committee.
19 [(vi)] (iii) The committee, in conjunction with the director of the
20 office of professional medical conduct, shall develop appropriate
21 consent forms and disclosure proceedings as may be necessary under any
22 federal statute, rule or regulation in order to permit the disclosure of
23 the information as may be required under [subparagraphs (ii)] clauses
24 (B) and [(iii)] (C) of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph.
25 (iv) Except as [herein] provided in this paragraph and notwithstanding
26 any other provision of law, neither the proceedings nor the records of
27 any such physician committee shall be subject to disclosure under arti-
28 cle thirty-one of the civil practice law and rules nor shall any member
29 of any such committee nor any person in attendance at any such meeting
30 be required to testify as to what transpired thereat.
31 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, that the amend-
32 ments to paragraph (g) of subdivision 11 of section 230 of the public
33 health law, made by section one of this act, shall not affect the repeal
34 of such paragraph, and shall be deemed repealed therewith; and provided,
35 further, that the amendments to subparagraphs (v) and (vi) of paragraph
36 (g) of subdivision 11 of section 230 of the public health law, made by
37 section one of this act, shall not affect the repeal of such subpara-
38 graphs, and shall be deemed repealed therewith.