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90_HB0073
225 ILCS 60/23.1 new
Amends the Medical Practice Act of 1987 to provide for
the public release of individual profiles on persons licensed
under the Act, including information relating to criminal
charges, administrative disciplinary actions, hospital
privilege revocations, and medical malpractice awards.
Effective immediately.
LRB9000837DPcc
LRB9000837DPcc
1 AN ACT to amend the Medical Practice Act of 1987 by
2 adding Section 23.1.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Medical Practice Act of 1987 is amended
6 by adding Section 23.1 as follows:
7 (225 ILCS 60/23.1 new)
8 Sec. 23.1. Public disclosure of disciplinary records.
9 (a) The Disciplinary Board shall collect the following
10 information to create individual profiles on licensees, in a
11 format created by the Disciplinary Board that shall be
12 available for dissemination to the public:
13 (1) a description of any criminal convictions for
14 felonies and serious misdemeanors as determined by the
15 Disciplinary Board, within the most recent 10 years. For
16 the purposes of this item, a person shall be deemed to be
17 convicted of a crime if he or she pled guilty or if he or
18 she was found or adjudged guilty by a court of competent
19 jurisdiction;
20 (2) a description of any charges to which a
21 physician pleads nolo contendere or where a disposition
22 of supervision is made by a court of competent
23 jurisdiction, within the most recent 10 years;
24 (3) a description of any final disciplinary actions
25 taken by the Disciplinary Board within the most recent 10
26 years;
27 (4) a description of any final disciplinary actions
28 taken by licensing boards in other states within the most
29 recent 10 years;
30 (5) a description of revocation or involuntary
31 restriction of hospital privileges for reasons related to
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1 competence or character that have been taken by the
2 hospital's governing body or any other official of the
3 hospital after procedural due process has been afforded,
4 the resignation from or nonrenewal of medical staff
5 membership, or the restriction of privileges at a
6 hospital taken in lieu of or in settlement of a pending
7 disciplinary case related to competence or character in
8 that hospital. Only cases that have occurred within the
9 most recent 10 years shall be disclosed by the
10 Disciplinary Board to the public;
11 (6) all medical malpractice court judgments,
12 medical malpractice arbitration awards, and settlements
13 of medical malpractice claims in which a payment is made
14 to a complaining party, within the most recent 10 years.
15 Dispositions of paid claims shall be reported in a
16 minimum of 3 graduated categories indicating the level of
17 significance of the award or settlement. Information
18 concerning paid medical malpractice claims shall be put
19 in context by comparing an individual licensee's medical
20 malpractice judgment and arbitration awards and
21 settlements to the experience of other licensees within
22 the same specialty. Information concerning settlements
23 shall be accompanied by the following statement:
24 "Settlement of a claim may occur for a variety of reasons
25 which do not necessarily reflect negatively on the
26 professional competence or conduct of the physician. A
27 payment in settlement of a medical malpractice action or
28 claim should not be construed as creating a presumption
29 that medical malpractice has occurred." Nothing in this
30 Section shall be construed to limit or prevent the
31 Disciplinary Board from providing further explanatory
32 information regarding the significance of categories in
33 which settlements are reported.
34 Pending malpractice claims shall not be disclosed by
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1 the Disciplinary Board to the public. Nothing in this
2 Section shall be construed to prevent the Disciplinary
3 Board from investigating and disciplining a licensee on
4 the basis of medical malpractice claims that are pending.
5 (7) names of medical schools and dates of
6 graduation;
7 (8) graduate medical education;
8 (9) specialty board certification;
9 (10) number of years in practice;
10 (11) names of the hospitals where the licensee has
11 privileges;
12 (12) appointments to medical school faculties and
13 indication as to whether a licensee has had a
14 responsibility for graduate medical education within the
15 most recent 10 years;
16 (13) publications in peer-reviewed medical
17 literature within the most recent 10 years;
18 (14) professional or community service activities
19 and awards;
20 (15) the location of the licensee's primary
21 practice setting;
22 (16) the identification of any translating services
23 that may be available at the licensee's primary practice
24 location;
25 (17) an indication of whether the licensee
26 participates in the Medicaid program.
27 The Disciplinary Board shall provide each licensee with a
28 copy of his or her profile prior to release to the public. A
29 licensee shall be provided a reasonable time to correct
30 factual inaccuracies that appear in his or her profile.
31 A licensee may elect to exclude from his or her profile
32 certain information provided pursuant to items (12), (13),
33 and (14) concerning academic appointments and teaching
34 responsibilities, publication in peer-reviewed journals, and
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1 professional and community service awards. In collecting
2 information for profiles and in disseminating the same, the
3 Disciplinary Board shall inform physicians that they may
4 choose not to provide such information required pursuant to
5 items (12), (13), and (14).
6 (b) The Department shall maintain a toll free telephone
7 line for responding to requests for information about the
8 disciplinary records of physicians in Illinois.
9 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
10 becoming law.
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