225 ILCS 100/26

(225 ILCS 100/26) (from Ch. 111, par. 4826)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2028)

Sec. 26. Reports relating to professional conduct and capacity.

(A) The Board shall by rule provide for the reporting to it of all instances in which a podiatric physician licensed under this Act who is impaired by reason of age, drug or alcohol abuse or physical or mental impairment, is under supervision and, where appropriate, is in a program of rehabilitation. Reports shall be strictly confidential and may be reviewed and considered only by the members of the Board, or by authorized staff of the Department as provided by the rules of the Board. Provisions shall be made for the periodic report of the status of any such podiatric physician not less than twice annually in order that the Board shall have current information upon which to determine the status of any such podiatric physician. Such initial and periodic reports of impaired physicians shall not be considered records within the meaning of the State Records Act and shall be disposed of, following a determination by the Board that such reports are no longer required, in a manner and at such time as the Board shall determine by rule. The filing of such reports shall be construed as the filing of a report for the purposes of subsection (C) of this Section. Failure to file a report under this Section shall be a Class A misdemeanor.

(A-5) The following persons and entities shall report to the Department or the Board in the instances and under the conditions set forth in this subsection (A-5):

(1) Any administrator or officer of any hospital, nursing home or other health care agency or facility who has knowledge of any action or condition which reasonably indicates to him or her that a licensed podiatric physician practicing in such hospital, nursing home or other health care agency or facility is habitually intoxicated or addicted to the use of habit forming drugs, or is otherwise impaired, to the extent that such intoxication, addiction, or impairment adversely affects such podiatric physician's professional performance, or has knowledge that reasonably indicates to him or her that any podiatric physician unlawfully possesses, uses, distributes or converts habit-forming drugs belonging to the hospital, nursing home or other health care agency or facility for such podiatric physician's own use or benefit, shall promptly file a written report thereof to the Department. The report shall include the name of the podiatric physician, the name of the patient or patients involved, if any, a brief summary of the action, condition or occurrence that has necessitated the report, and any other information as the Department may deem necessary. The Department shall provide forms on which such reports shall be filed.

(2) The president or chief executive officer of any association or society of podiatric physicians licensed under this Act, operating within this State shall report to the Board when the association or society renders a final determination relating to the professional competence or conduct of the podiatric physician.

(3) Every insurance company that offers policies of professional liability insurance to persons licensed under this Act, or any other entity that seeks to indemnify the professional liability of a podiatric physician licensed under this Act, shall report to the Board the settlement of any claim or cause of action, or final judgment rendered in any cause of action that alleged negligence in the furnishing of medical care by such licensed person when such settlement or final judgement is in favor of the plaintiff.

(4) The State's Attorney of each county shall report to the Board all instances in which a person licensed under this Act is convicted or otherwise found guilty of the commission of any felony.

(5) All agencies, boards, commissions, departments, or other instrumentalities of the government of the State of Illinois shall report to the Board any instance arising in connection with the operations of such agency, including the administration of any law by such agency, in which a podiatric physician licensed under this Act has either committed an act or acts that may be a violation of this Act or that may constitute unprofessional conduct related directly to patient care or that indicates that a podiatric physician licensed under this Act may have a mental or physical disability that may endanger patients under that physician's care.

(B) All reports required by this Act shall be submitted to the Board in a timely fashion. The reports shall be filed in writing within 60 days after a determination that a report is required under this Act. All reports shall contain the following information:

(1) The name, address and telephone number of the person making the report.

(2) The name, address and telephone number of the podiatric physician who is the subject of the report.

(3) The name or other means of identification of any patient or patients whose treatment is a subject of the report, provided, however, no medical records may be revealed without the written consent of the patient or patients.

(4) A brief description of the facts that gave rise to the issuance of the report, including the dates of any occurrences deemed to necessitate the filing of the report.

(5) If court action is involved, the identity of the court in which the action is filed, along with the docket number and date of filing of the action.

(6) Any further pertinent information that the reporting party deems to be an aid in the evaluation of the report.

Nothing contained in this Section shall waive or modify the confidentiality of medical reports and committee reports to the extent provided by law. Any information reported or disclosed shall be kept for the confidential use of the Board, the Board's attorneys, the investigative staff and other authorized Department staff, as provided in this Act, and shall be afforded the same status as is provided information concerning medical studies in Part 21 of Article VIII of the Code of Civil Procedure.

(C) Any individual or organization acting in good faith, and not in a willful and wanton manner, in complying with this Act by providing any report or other information to the Board, or assisting in the investigation or preparation of such information, or by participating in proceedings of the Board, or by serving as a member of the Board, shall not, as a result of such actions, be subject to criminal prosecution or civil damages.

(D) Members of the Board, the Board's attorneys, the investigative staff, other podiatric physicians retained under contract to assist and advise in the investigation, and other authorized Department staff shall be indemnified by the State for any actions occurring within the scope of services on the Board, done in good faith and not willful and wanton in nature. The Attorney General shall defend all such actions unless he or she determines either that he or she would have a conflict of interest in such representation or that the actions complained of were not in good faith or were willful and wanton.

Should the Attorney General decline representation, the member shall have the right to employ counsel of his or her choice, whose fees shall be provided by the State, after approval by the Attorney General, unless there is a determination by a court that the member's actions were not in good faith or were willful and wanton. The member must notify the Attorney General within 7 days of receipt of notice of the initiation of any action involving services of the Board. Failure to so notify the Attorney General shall constitute an absolute waiver of the right to a defense and indemnification. The Attorney General shall determine within 7 days after receiving such notice, whether he or she will undertake to represent the member.

(E) Upon the receipt of any report called for by this Act, other than those reports of impaired persons licensed under this Act required pursuant to the rules of the Board, the Board shall notify in writing, by mail or email, the podiatric physician who is the subject of the report. Such notification shall be made within 30 days of receipt by the Board of the report.

The notification shall include a written notice setting forth the podiatric physician's right to examine the report. Included in such notification shall be the address at which the file is maintained, the name of the custodian of the reports, and the telephone number at which the custodian may be reached. The podiatric physician who is the subject of the report shall be permitted to submit a written statement responding, clarifying, adding to, or proposing the amending of the report previously filed. The statement shall become a permanent part of the file and must be received by the Board no more than 30 days after the date on which the podiatric physician was notified of the existence of the original report.

The Board shall review all reports received by it, together with any supporting information and responding statements submitted by persons who are the subject of reports. The review by the Board shall be in a timely manner but in no event shall the Board's initial review of the material contained in each disciplinary file be less than 61 days nor more than 180 days after the receipt of the initial report by the Board.

When the Board makes its initial review of the materials contained within its disciplinary files the Board shall, in writing, make a determination as to whether there are sufficient facts to warrant further investigation or action. Failure to make such determination within the time provided shall be deemed to be a determination that there are not sufficient facts to warrant further investigation or action.

Should the Board find that there are not sufficient facts to warrant further investigation, or action, the report shall be accepted for filing and the matter shall be deemed closed and so reported.

The individual or entity filing the original report or complaint and the podiatric physician who is the subject of the report or complaint shall be notified in writing by the Board of any final action on their report or complaint.

(F) The Board shall prepare on a timely basis, but in no event less than once every other month, a summary report of final disciplinary actions taken upon disciplinary files maintained by the Board. The summary reports shall be made available on the Department's web site.

(G) Any violation of this Section shall be a Class A misdemeanor.

(H) If any such podiatric physician violates the provisions of this Section, an action may be brought in the name of the People of the State of Illinois, through the Attorney General of the State of Illinois, for an order enjoining such violation or for an order enforcing compliance with this Section. Upon filing of a verified petition in such court, the court may issue a temporary restraining order without notice or bond and may preliminarily or permanently enjoin such violation, and if it is established that such podiatric physician has violated or is violating the injunction, the Court may punish the offender for contempt of court. Proceedings under this paragraph shall be in addition to, and not in lieu of, all other remedies and penalties provided for by this Section.

(Source: P.A. 99-143, eff. 7-27-15; 100-525, eff. 9-22-17.)