Healing arts: peer review.

Existing law provides for the professional review of specified healing arts licentiates through a peer review process. This bill would define the term "peer review" for purposes of those provisions. Under existing law, specified persons are required to file a report, designated as an "805 report," with a licensing board within 15 days after a specified action is taken against a person licensed by that board. This bill would also require specified persons to file a report with a licensing board within 15 days after a peer review body makes a decision or recommendation regarding the disciplinary action to be taken against a licentiate of that board based on the peer review body's determination, following formal investigation, that the licentiate may have engaged in various acts, including incompetence, substance abuse, excessive prescribing or furnishing of controlled substances, or sexual misconduct, among other things. The bill would authorize the board to inspect and copy certain documents in the record of that investigation. Existing law requires the board to maintain an 805 report for a period of 3 years after receipt. This bill would require the board to maintain the report electronically. Existing law authorizes the Medical Board of California, the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, and the Dental Board of California to inspect and copy certain documents in the record of any disciplinary proceeding resulting in action that is required to be reported in an 805 report. This bill would specify that the boards have the authority to also inspect, as permitted by other applicable law, any certified copy of medical records in the record of the disciplinary proceeding. Existing law requires specified healing arts boards to maintain a central file of their licensees containing, among other things, disciplinary information reported through 805 reports. Under this bill, if a court finds, in a final judgment, that the peer review resulting in the 805 report was conducted in bad faith and the licensee who is the subject of the report notifies the board of that finding, the board would be required to include that finding in the licensee's central file. Existing law requires the Medical Board of California, the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, and the California Board of Podiatric Medicine to disclose an 805 report to specified health care entities and to disclose certain hospital disciplinary actions to inquiring members of the public. Existing law also requires the Medical Board of California to post hospital disciplinary actions regarding its licensees on the Internet. This bill would prohibit those disclosures, and would require the Medical Board of California to remove certain information posted on the Internet, if a court finds, in a final judgment, that the peer review resulting in the 805 report or the hospital disciplinary action was conducted in bad faith and the licensee notifies the board of that finding. The bill would also require the Medical Board of California to include certain exculpatory or explanatory statements in those disclosures or postings and would require the board to post on the Internet a factsheet that explains and provides information on the 805 reporting requirements. Existing law also requires the Medical Board of California, the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, and the California Board of Podiatric Medicine to disclose to an inquiring member of the public information regarding enforcement actions taken against a licensee by the board or by another state or jurisdiction. This bill would also require those boards to make those disclosures regarding enforcement actions taken against former licensees. The bill would make related technical and nonsubstantive changes.