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<section article="gho" article_name="Health Occupations" number="14-411" title_number="14" title_name="Physicians" subtitle_number="4" subtitle_name="Disciplinary Actions">
  <level label="a">
    <text>In this section, “record” means the proceedings, records, or files of the Board or a disciplinary panel.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="b">
    <text>Except as otherwise expressly provided in this section and § 14–411.1 of this subtitle, the Board, a disciplinary panel, or any of its other investigatory bodies may not disclose any information contained in a record.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="c">
    <text>This section may not be construed to prevent or limit the disclosure of:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>General licensure, certification, or registration information maintained by the Board, if the request for release complies with the criteria of § 4–333 of the General Provisions Article;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>Profile information collected and disseminated under § 14–411.1 of this subtitle; or</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>Personal and other identifying information of a licensee, as required by the National Practitioner Data Bank for participation in the proactive disclosure service.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="d">
    <text>The Board shall disclose any information contained in a record to:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>A committee of a hospital, health maintenance organization, or related institution if:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>The committee of a medical hospital staff concerned with licensee discipline or other committee of a hospital, health maintenance organization, or related institution requests the information in writing;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>A disciplinary panel has issued an order as to a licensee on whom the information is requested; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>The Board determines that the information requested is necessary for an investigation or action of the committee as to a medical privilege of a licensee; or</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The Secretary, the Office of Health Care Quality in the Department, the Maryland Health Care Commission, or the Health Services Cost Review Commission for the purpose of investigating quality or utilization of care in any entity regulated by the Office of Health Care Quality or the Health Services Cost Review Commission.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="e">
    <text>Subsection (d)(2) of this section may not be construed to alter the authority of the Secretary under § 1–203(a) of this article or § 2–106(c) of the Health – General Article.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="f">
    <level label="1">
      <text>The Board shall notify all hospitals, health maintenance organizations, or other health care facilities where a licensee has privileges, has a provider contract with a health maintenance organization, or is employed of a complaint or report filed against that licensee, if:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>The Board determines, in its discretion, that the hospital, health maintenance organization, or health care facility should be informed about the report or complaint;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>The nature of the complaint suggests a reasonable possibility of an imminent threat to patient safety; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>The complaint or report was as a result of a claim filed in the Health Care Alternative Dispute Resolution Office and a certificate of a qualified expert is filed in accordance with § 3–2A–04(b)(1) of the Courts Article.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The Board shall disclose any information pertaining to a licensee’s competency to practice under the license contained in record to a committee of a hospital, health maintenance organization, or other health care facility if:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>The committee is concerned with licensee discipline and requests the information in writing; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>The Board has received a complaint or report pursuant to paragraph (1)(i) and (ii) of this subsection on the licensee on whom the information is requested.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>The Board shall, after formal action is taken pursuant to § 14–406 of this subtitle, notify those hospitals, health maintenance organizations, or health care facilities where the licensee has privileges, has a provider contract with a health maintenance organization, or is employed of its formal action within 10 days after the action is taken and shall provide the hospital, health maintenance organization, or health care facility with periodic reports as to enforcement or monitoring of a formal disciplinary order against a licensee within 10 days after receipt of those reports.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="g">
    <text>On the request of a person who has made a complaint to the Board regarding a licensee, the Board shall provide the person with information on the status of the complaint.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="h">
    <text>Following the filing of charges or notice of initial denial of license application, the Board shall disclose the filing to the public on the Board’s website.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="i">
    <text>The Board may disclose any information contained in a record to a licensing or disciplinary authority of another state if:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>The licensing or disciplinary authority of another state that regulates licensees in that state requests the information in writing; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The disclosure of any information is limited to the pendency of an allegation of a ground for disciplinary or other action by a disciplinary panel until:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>The disciplinary panel has passed an order under § 14–406 of this subtitle; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>A licensee on whom the information is requested authorizes a disclosure as to the facts of an allegation or the results of an investigation before the Board.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="j">
    <text>The Board may disclose any information contained in a record to a person if:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>A licensee on whom any information is requested authorizes the person to receive the disclosure;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The person requests the information in writing; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>The authorization for the disclosure is in writing.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="k">
    <text>The Board may disclose any information contained in a record to the State Medical Assistance Compliance Administration, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or the Secretary’s designee, or any health occupational regulatory board if:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <level label="i">
        <text>The State Medical Assistance Compliance Administration or any health occupational regulatory board requests the information in writing; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>The Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or the Secretary’s designee is entitled to receive the information or have access to the information under 42 U.S.C. § 1396r–2;</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <level label="i">
        <text>A disciplinary panel has issued an order under § 14–406 of this subtitle; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>An allegation is pending before the Board or a disciplinary panel; and</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>The Board determines that the requested information is necessary for the proper conduct of the business of that administration or board.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="l">
    <text>If the Board or a disciplinary panel determines that the information contained in a record concerns possible criminal activity, the Board or the disciplinary panel shall disclose the information to a law enforcement or prosecutorial official.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="m">
    <text>The Board may permit inspection of records for which inspection otherwise is not authorized by a person who is engaged in a research project if:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>The researcher submits to the executive director and the Board approves a written request that:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>Describes the purpose of the research project;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Describes the intent, if any, to publish the findings;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>Describes the nature of the requested personal records;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iv">
        <text>Describes the safeguards that the researcher would take to protect the identity of the persons in interest; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="v">
        <text>States that persons in interest will not be contacted unless the executive director approves and monitors the contact;</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The executive director is satisfied that the proposed safeguards will prevent the disclosure of the identity of persons in interest; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>The researcher makes an agreement with the executive director that:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>Defines the scope of the research project;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Sets out the safeguards for protecting the identity of the persons in interest; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>States that a breach of any condition of the agreement is a breach of contract.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="n">
    <text>On the request of a person who has testified in a Board or Office of Administrative Hearings proceeding, the Board shall provide to the person who testified a copy of the portion of the transcript of that person’s testimony.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="o">
    <level label="1">
      <text>The Board may publish a summary of any allegations of grounds for disciplinary or other action.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>A summary may not identify:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>Any person who makes an allegation to the Board or any of its investigatory bodies;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>A licensee about whom an allegation is made; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>A witness in an investigation or a proceeding before the Board or any of its investigatory bodies.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="p">
    <text>The Board shall disclose information in a record upon the request of the Governor, Secretary, or Legislative Auditor, in accordance with § 2–1223(a) of the State Government Article. However, the Governor, Secretary, or Auditor, or any of their employees may not disclose personally identifiable information from any of these records which are otherwise confidential by law.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="q">
    <text>This section does not apply to:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>Any disclosure of a record by the Board to a disciplinary panel or any of its other investigatory bodies; or</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>A licensee, certificate holder, or registration holder who has been charged under this title or a party to a proceeding before the Board or a disciplinary panel who claims to be aggrieved by the decision of the Board or the disciplinary panel.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="r">
    <text>If any information contained in any medical or hospital document or any other exhibit is otherwise open for disclosure under law, the use of that document or exhibit in any record of the Board, a disciplinary panel, or any of its other investigatory bodies does not prevent its disclosure in any other proceeding.</text>
  </level>
</section>
