Bill Text: NY A08319 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Relates to incorporating additional information in the physician profile, and streamlining reporting requirements.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - referred to health [A08319 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A08319-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          8319
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                      June 7, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A. GOTTFRIED -- (at request of the Department of
          Health) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health
        AN ACT to amend the public health  law,  in  relation  to  incorporating
          additional  information  in  the  physician  profile  and streamlining
          reporting requirements
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  Subdivision 1 of section 2995-a of the public health law,
     2  as added by chapter 542 of the laws of 2000, paragraph (h) as amended by
     3  section 1 of part A of chapter 57 of the laws of  2015,  is  amended  to
     4  read as follows:
     5    1.  The  department shall collect the following information and create
     6  individual profiles on licensees subject to the authority of the  office
     7  of professional medical conduct, in a format that shall be available for
     8  dissemination to the public:
     9    (a)  a  statement  of  any criminal convictions (as defined by section
    10  1.20 of the criminal procedure law) within the most  recent  ten  years,
    11  under the laws of New York state or any other jurisdiction, for offenses
    12  specified by regulations of the department;
    13    (b)  a  statement  of  any  action  (other than an action that remains
    14  confidential) taken against the licensee pursuant to section two hundred
    15  thirty of this chapter or any similar action taken by any other state or
    16  licensing entity, within the most recent ten years;
    17    (c) a statement of any current limitation of the licensee to a  speci-
    18  fied area, type, scope or condition of practice;
    19    (d)  a  statement  of  any loss or involuntary restriction of hospital
    20  privileges or a failure to renew professional  privileges  at  hospitals
    21  within the last ten years, for reasons related to the quality of patient
    22  care  delivered or to be delivered by the physician where procedural due
    23  process has been afforded, exhausted, or waived, or the resignation from
    24  or removal of medical staff membership or restriction of privileges at a
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10164-04-7

        A. 8319                             2
     1  hospital taken in lieu of a pending disciplinary  case  related  to  the
     2  quality  of  patient  care delivered or to be delivered by the physician
     3  (notwithstanding paragraph (a) of subdivision three of  section  twenty-
     4  eight hundred three-e of this chapter, as added by chapter eight hundred
     5  sixty-six of the laws of nineteen hundred eighty);
     6    (e) (i) a statement indicating the number of medical malpractice court
     7  judgments  and  arbitration  awards  within the most recent ten years in
     8  which a payment is  awarded  to  a  complaining  party  (notwithstanding
     9  subsection  (f)  of section three hundred fifteen of the insurance law);
    10  and
    11    (ii) a statement indicating all  malpractice  settlements  within  the
    12  most recent ten years in which payment is awarded to a complaining party
    13  (notwithstanding  subsection (f) of section three hundred fifteen of the
    14  insurance law),
    15    (A) if the total number of settlements exceeds two; or
    16    (B) if the commissioner determines any such settlement could be  rele-
    17  vant  to  patient  decisionmaking  concerning  health  care quality. The
    18  statement shall include the following: "Settlement payments will  appear
    19  in  this profile only if the total number of settlements made within the
    20  past ten years exceeds two, or if the commissioner of health  determines
    21  a  settlement  to be relevant to patient decisionmaking. Settlement of a
    22  claim may occur for a variety  of  reasons,  which  do  not  necessarily
    23  reflect  negatively  on  the  professional  competence or conduct of the
    24  physician. A payment in settlement of a medical  malpractice  action  or
    25  claim   does  not  necessarily  mean  that  a  medical  malpractice  has
    26  occurred." The commissioner may supplement  such  statement  as  may  be
    27  appropriate.
    28    (iii) judgments, awards and settlements shall be reported in graduated
    29  categories  indicating  the level of significance, date and place of the
    30  judgment, award or settlement. Information concerning  medical  malprac-
    31  tice  judgments,  awards  and  settlements  shall  be  put in context by
    32  comparing an individual licensee's medical  malpractice  settlements  to
    33  the  experience  of  other  physicians in New York state within the same
    34  board specialty. Pending malpractice claims shall not  be  disclosed  to
    35  the  public  under  this  section.  Nothing herein shall be construed to
    36  prevent the board from investigating or disciplining a licensee  on  the
    37  basis of medical malpractice claims that are pending;
    38    (f) name of medical schools attended and date of graduations;
    39    (g) graduate medical education;
    40    (h) current specialty board certification and date of certification;
    41    (i) dates admitted to practice in New York state;
    42    (j) names of hospitals where the licensee has practice privileges;
    43    (k)  appointments  to  medical  school  faculties and indication as to
    44  whether a licensee has had a responsibility for graduate medical  educa-
    45  tion within the most recent ten years;
    46    (l) information regarding publications in peer reviewed medical liter-
    47  ature within the most recent ten years;
    48    (m) information regarding professional or community service activities
    49  or awards;
    50    (n)  (i) the location of the licensee's primary practice setting iden-
    51  tified as such; [and]
    52    (ii) [the names of any licensed  physicians  with  whom  the  licensee
    53  shares  a  group practice, as defined in subdivision five of section two
    54  hundred  thirty-eight  of  this  chapter]  hours  of  operation  of  the
    55  licensee's primary practice setting;

        A. 8319                             3
     1    (iii)  availability  of assistive technology at the licensee's primary
     2  practice setting; and
     3    (iv) whether the licensee is accepting new patients;
     4    (o)  the identification of any translating services that may be avail-
     5  able at the licensee's primary practice location;
     6    (p) whether the licensee participates  in  the  medicaid  or  medicare
     7  program  or  any  other  state  or  federally  financed health insurance
     8  program; [and]
     9    (q) health care plans with which the licensee has  contracts,  employ-
    10  ment, or other affiliation[.] provided that the reporting of such infor-
    11  mation  shall  not  be the responsibility of the physician, but shall be
    12  included and  updated  by  the  department  utilizing  provider  network
    13  participation  information,  or  other  reliable  sources of information
    14  submitted by health care plans;
    15    (r) physician's website and social media accounts;
    16    (s) the names of any licensed physicians with whom the licensee shares
    17  a group practice, as defined in subdivision five of section two  hundred
    18  thirty-eight of this chapter; and
    19    (t)  workforce  research and planning information as determined by the
    20  commissioner.
    21    § 2. Section 2995-a of the public health law is amended  by  adding  a
    22  new subdivision 1-b to read as follows:
    23    1-b.  (a)  For  the purposes of this section, a physician licensed and
    24  registered to practice in this state may authorize a designee to  regis-
    25  ter,  transmit,  enter  or  update  information  on  his  or her behalf,
    26  provided that:
    27    (i) the designee so authorized is employed by  the  physician  or  the
    28  same professional practice or is under contract with such practice;
    29    (ii) the physician takes reasonable steps to ensure that such designee
    30  is sufficiently competent in the profile requirements;
    31    (iii)  the  physician remains responsible for ensuring the accuracy of
    32  the information provided and for any failure to provide accurate  infor-
    33  mation; and
    34    (iv)  the  physician  shall notify the department upon terminating the
    35  authorization of any designee, in a manner determined by the department.
    36    (b) The commissioner shall grant access to the profile in a reasonably
    37  prompt manner to designees authorized  by  physicians  and  establish  a
    38  mechanism  to prevent designees terminated pursuant to subparagraph (iv)
    39  of paragraph (a) of this subdivision from accessing  the  profile  in  a
    40  reasonably prompt manner following notification of termination.
    41    §  3.  Subdivision  4  of  section 2995-a of the public health law, as
    42  amended by section 3 of part A of chapter 57 of the  laws  of  2015,  is
    43  amended to read as follows:
    44    4. Each physician shall periodically report to the department on forms
    45  and in the time and manner required by the commissioner any other infor-
    46  mation  as is required by the department for the development of profiles
    47  under this section which is  not  otherwise  reasonably  obtainable.  In
    48  addition  to  such  periodic reports and providing the same information,
    49  each physician shall update his or her profile  information  within  the
    50  six  months  prior to [the expiration date of such physician's registra-
    51  tion period] submission of the re-registration application, as a  condi-
    52  tion  of  registration  renewal  [under  article one hundred thirty-one]
    53  pursuant to section sixty-five hundred twenty-four of the education law.
    54  Except for optional information provided and information required  under
    55  paragraph (t) of subdivision one of this section, physicians shall noti-

        A. 8319                             4
     1  fy the department of any change in the profile information within thirty
     2  days of such change.
     3    §  4.  Subdivision  6  of  section 2995-a of the public health law, as
     4  added by chapter 542 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows:
     5    6. A physician may elect to have  his  or  her  profile  omit  certain
     6  information provided pursuant to paragraphs (k), (l), (m), [(n) and (q)]
     7  (r),  and  (s)  of subdivision one of this section. Information provided
     8  pursuant to paragraph (t) of subdivision one of this  section  shall  be
     9  omitted  from  a physician's profile. In collecting information for such
    10  profiles and disseminating the same, the department shall inform  physi-
    11  cians  that  they  may  choose  not to provide such information required
    12  pursuant to paragraphs (k), (l), (m), [(n) and  (q)]  (r),  and  (s)  of
    13  subdivision one of this section.
    14    § 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    15  it shall have become a law.
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