STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9132
IN SENATE
July 11, 2018
___________
Introduced by Sen. KRUEGER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to requiring certain
health care providers to disclose the fact that the provider is on
probation to current and new patients
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 6511-a
2 to read as follows:
3 § 6511-a. Disclosure of probationary status. (1) The provisions of
4 this section shall apply to any person licensed under the following
5 articles of this title: one hundred thirty-one (medicine), one hundred
6 thirty-one-B (physician assistants), one hundred thirty-two (chiroprac-
7 tic), one hundred thirty-three (dentistry and dental hygiene), one
8 hundred thirty-four (licensed perfusionists), one hundred thirty-six
9 (physical therapy and physical therapist assistants), one hundred thir-
10 ty-nine (nursing), one hundred forty (professional midwifery practice),
11 one hundred forty-one (podiatry), one hundred forty-three (optometry),
12 one hundred fifty-five (massage therapy), one hundred fifty-six (occupa-
13 tional therapy), one hundred sixty (acupuncture), and one hundred
14 sixty-four (respiratory therapists and respiratory therapy technicians).
15 (2) As used in this section:
16 (a) "licensee" means any person licensed to practice a profession
17 governed by the articles of this title listed in subdivision one of this
18 section; and
19 (b) "state board" means the state board for each profession governed
20 by the articles of this title listed in subdivision one of this section
21 and appointed by the board of regents pursuant to section sixty-five
22 hundred eight of this article.
23 (3) Except as provided by subdivision five of this section, the
24 department and the applicable state board shall require a licensee to
25 disclose the following on a separate document: his or her probationary
26 status; the cause or causes for probation alleged in the accusation, the
27 statement of the issues, or the legal conclusions of an administrative
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15819-05-8
S. 9132 2
1 law judge; the length of the probation and the end date; all practice
2 restrictions placed on the licensee by the board; the address of the
3 applicable state board's internet website; and the applicable state
4 board's telephone number to a current or new patient, the patient's
5 guardian or the patient's health care surrogate prior to the patient's
6 first visit following the probationary order while the licensee is on
7 probation pursuant to a probationary order made after January first, two
8 thousand eighteen, in any of the circumstances listed in paragraph (a),
9 (b), (c) or (d) of this subdivision. Such written disclosure shall be
10 provided to the patient, the patient's guardian or the patient's health
11 care surrogate in the licensee's office prior to the time the patient
12 enters the examination room and the examination or treatment commences.
13 The licensee shall provide the disclosure under the following circum-
14 stances:
15 (a) An accusation against the licensee alleges, a complaint filed
16 against the licensee indicates, or the legal conclusions of an adminis-
17 trative law judge find that the licensee is implicated in any of the
18 following:
19 (i) gross negligence;
20 (ii) repeated negligent acts involving a departure from the standard
21 of care with multiple patients;
22 (iii) drug or alcohol abuse that threatens to impair a licensee's
23 ability to render patient care safely, including practicing under the
24 influence of drugs or alcohol;
25 (iv) felony conviction arising from or occurring during patient care
26 or treatment; or
27 (v) mental illness or other cognitive impairment that impedes a
28 licensee's ability to safely render patient care.
29 (b) The applicable state board ordered any of the following in
30 conjunction with placing the licensee on probation:
31 (i) that a third-party chaperone be present when the licensee examines
32 patients as a result of sexual misconduct;
33 (ii) that the licensee submit to drug testing as a result of drug or
34 alcohol abuse; and/or
35 (iii) that the licensee have a monitor.
36 (c) The licensee has not successfully completed a training program or
37 any associated examinations required by the board as a condition of
38 probation.
39 (d) The licensee has been on probation more than once.
40 (4) The licensee shall obtain from each patient a signed receipt
41 following the disclosure described in subdivision three of this section
42 that includes a written explanation of how the patient can find further
43 information on the licensee's probation on the applicable state board's
44 internet website.
45 (5) The licensee shall not be required to provide the disclosure prior
46 to the visit as required by subdivision three of this section if the
47 visit occurs in an emergency room, the patient is incapacitated, and the
48 patient's guardian or the patient's health care surrogate is not pres-
49 ent.
50 (6) If a patient, the patient's guardian, or the patient's health care
51 surrogate elects to cancel the patient's appointment with the licensee
52 upon being provided with the disclosure required by subdivision three of
53 this section, neither the patient nor the patient's insurance company
54 shall be charged for the appointment.
55 (7) Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be
56 subject to a penalty not to exceed two thousand dollars. Any person who
S. 9132 3
1 commits subsequent, willful violations of the provisions of this section
2 shall have his or her license suspended for a period of time to be
3 determined by the commissioner.
4 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
5 it shall have become a law and shall apply to all probationary orders
6 issued on or after January 1, 2019. Effective immediately, the addition,
7 amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the
8 implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized and
9 directed to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
