Bill Text: NY A02554 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to the identification, charging, reporting and investigation of charges of professional misconduct by health care professionals.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-02 - substituted by s1693 [A02554 Detail]

Download: New_York-2015-A02554-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         2554
                              2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                   January 20, 2015
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by M. of A. BARRETT -- read once and referred to the Commit-
         tee on Health
       AN ACT to amend the public health law, in  relation  to  identification,
         charging,  reporting  and  investigation  of  charges  of professional
         misconduct by health care professionals
         THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. Subdivision 9-b of section 230 of the public health law, as
    2  added by chapter 532 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:
    3    9-b. Neither the board for professional medical conduct nor the office
    4  of professional medical conduct shall [identify,] charge A LICENSEE WITH
    5  MISCONDUCT   AS  DEFINED  IN  SECTIONS  SIXTY-FIVE  HUNDRED  THIRTY  AND
    6  SIXTY-FIVE HUNDRED THIRTY-ONE OF THE EDUCATION LAW, or  cause  a  report
    7  made to the director of such office to be investigated BEYOND A PRELIMI-
    8  NARY  REVIEW AS SET FORTH IN CLAUSE (A) OF SUBPARAGRAPH (I) OF PARAGRAPH
    9  (A) OF SUBDIVISION TEN OF THIS SECTION, WHERE SUCH REPORT IS  DETERMINED
   10  TO  BE  based solely upon the recommendation or provision of a treatment
   11  modality TO A PARTICULAR PATIENT  by  [a]  SUCH  licensee  that  is  not
   12  universally accepted by the medical profession, including but not limit-
   13  ed  to,  varying  modalities  used  in the treatment of Lyme disease and
   14  other tick-borne diseases. [As used in this subdivision the term "licen-
   15  see" shall mean a physician,  physician's  assistant,  and  specialist's
   16  assistant.]  When  a  licensee, acting in accordance with paragraph e of
   17  subdivision four of  section  sixty-five  hundred  twenty-seven  of  the
   18  education  law,  recommends or provides a treatment modality that effec-
   19  tively treats human disease, pain, injury, deformity or physical  condi-
   20  tion FOR WHICH THE LICENSEE IS TREATING A PATIENT, the recommendation or
   21  provision of that modality TO A PARTICULAR PATIENT shall not, by itself,
   22  constitute  professional misconduct. [This prohibition shall not exoner-
   23  ate such licensee from otherwise applicable  professional  requirements]
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD07678-02-5
       A. 2554                             2
    1  THE  LICENSEE SHALL OTHERWISE ABIDE BY ALL OTHER APPLICABLE PROFESSIONAL
    2  REQUIREMENTS.
    3    S  2.  Subparagraph  (i) of paragraph (a) of subdivision 10 of section
    4  230 of the public health law, is amended by chapter 542 of the  laws  of
    5  2000, is amended to read as follows:
    6    (i) (A) The board for professional medical conduct, by the director of
    7  the  office  of professional medical conduct, may investigate on its own
    8  any  suspected  professional  misconduct,  and  shall  investigate  each
    9  complaint  received  regardless  of  the  source. BY THE CONCLUSION OF A
   10  PRELIMINARY REVIEW, INCLUDING AN INTERNAL CLINICAL REVIEW, THE  DIRECTOR
   11  SHALL  DETERMINE  IF A REPORT IS BASED SOLELY UPON THE RECOMMENDATION OR
   12  PROVISION OF A TREATMENT MODALITY BY A LICENSEE THAT IS NOT  UNIVERSALLY
   13  ACCEPTED BY THE MEDICAL PROFESSION, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO VARYING
   14  MODALITIES  USED  IN  THE  TREATMENT OF LYME DISEASE OR OTHER TICK-BORNE
   15  DISEASES. UPON A DETERMINATION BY THE DIRECTOR THAT A  REPORT  IS  BASED
   16  SOLELY   UPON  THE  PROVISION  OF  A  TREATMENT  MODALITY  THAT  IS  NOT
   17  UNIVERSALLY ACCEPTED, NO FURTHER REVIEW SHALL BE CONDUCTED AND NO CHARG-
   18  ES SHALL BE BROUGHT. NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL PRECLUDE THE DIRECTOR
   19  FROM MAKING SUCH A DETERMINATION EARLIER IN, OR SUBSEQUENT TO, A PRELIM-
   20  INARY REVIEW. (B) The director of the  office  of  professional  medical
   21  conduct  shall  cause  a  preliminary review of every report made to the
   22  department pursuant to section twenty-eight hundred three-e as added  by
   23  chapter  eight hundred sixty-six of the laws of nineteen hundred eighty,
   24  sections twenty-eight hundred five-l and forty-four  hundred  five-b  of
   25  this chapter, and section three hundred fifteen of the insurance law, to
   26  determine if such report reasonably appears to reflect physician conduct
   27  warranting further investigation pursuant to this subparagraph.
   28    S  3.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall apply to any
   29  professional discipline matter  or  administrative  or  judicial  review
   30  thereof  pending  on  or  after  the  date  on which this act shall take
   31  effect; provided, however, that the amendments to  subparagraph  (i)  of
   32  paragraph  (a) of subdivision 10 of section 230 of the public health law
   33  made by section two of this act shall not affect the expiration of  such
   34  paragraph and shall be deemed to expire therewith.