§ 5-31.1-20 - Reports relating to professional conduct and capacity – Regulations – Confidentiality – Immunity.
SECTION 5-31.1-20
§ 5-31.1-20 Reports relating toprofessional conduct and capacity – Regulations – Confidentiality– Immunity. – (a) The board with the approval of the director may adopt regulations requiringany person, including, but not limited to, corporations, health carefacilities, health maintenance organizations, organizations and federal, state,or local governmental agencies, or peer review boards to report to the boardany conviction, determination, or finding that a licensed dentist or dentalhygienist has committed unprofessional conduct as defined by § 5-31.1-10,or to report information which indicates that a licensed dentist or dentalhygienist may not be able to practice dentistry or dental hygiene withreasonable skill and safety to patients as the result of any mental or physicalcondition. The regulations include the reporting requirements prescribed insubdivisions (b)(1), (2), and (3) of this section.
(b) The following reports, in writing, shall be filed withthe board:
(1) Every insurer providing professional liability insuranceto a dentist or dental hygienist licensed under the provisions of this chaptermust send a complete report to the board as to any formal notice of any claim,settlement of any claim or cause of actions, or final judgment rendered in anycause of action for damages for death or personal injury caused by a dentist'sor dental hygienist's negligence, error or omission in practice or his or herrendering of unauthorized professional services. This report shall be sentwithin thirty (30) days after service of the complaint or notice, settlement,judgment, or arbitration award on the parties. All of those reports shallpresent an in depth factual summary of the claim in question.
(2) All hospital and licensed health care facilitiesincluding, but not limited to, nursing homes and health maintenanceorganizations and the director of the department of health must report to theboard within thirty (30) days of the action, any action, disciplinary orotherwise, taken for any reason, which limits, suspends, or revokes a dentist'sor dental hygienist's privilege to practice or requires supervision of adentist, either through formal action by the institution or faculty or throughany voluntary agreement with the dentist.
(3) Within ten (10) days after a judgment by a court of thisstate that a dentist or dental hygienist licensed under the provisions of thischapter has been convicted of a crime or is civilly liable for any death orpersonal injury caused by his or her negligence, error, or omission in his orher practice or his or her rendering unauthorized professional services, theclerk of the court which rendered the judgment shall report the judgment to theboard.
(c) The board shall report any changes of privileges of whichit is aware to the board of trustees or other appropriate body of all licensedhospitals and health maintenance organizations within thirty (30) days.
(d) The contents of any report file are confidential andexempt from public disclosure, except that it may be reviewed:
(1) By the licensee involved or his or her counsel orauthorized representative who may submit any additional exculpatory orexplanatory statements or other information, which statements or otherinformation are included in the file; or
(2) By the dental administrator, a representative of theboard or an investigator for the board, who has been assigned to review theactivities of a licensed dentist or dental hygienist.
(e) Upon determination that a report is without merit, theboard's records may be purged of information relating to the report.
(f) If any person refuses to furnish a required report, theboard may petition the superior court of any county in which that personresides or is found, and the superior court shall issue to the court's personan order to furnish the required report. Any failure to comply with that orderconstitutes civil contempt.
(g) Every individual, dental association, dental society,dental hygiene association, dental auxiliary association hospital, health carefacility, health maintenance organizations, peer review board, dental servicebureau, health insurance carrier or agent, professional standards revieworganization, and the agency of the federal, state, or local government isimmune from civil liability, whether direct or derivative, for providinginformation to the board in good faith pursuant to this statute or theregulations outlined in subsection (a) of this section or requirements ofsubsection (b) of this section.
(h) Nondisclosure agreements are prohibited insofar as theyforbid parties from making reports regarding competency and/or unprofessionalconduct to the board of examiners in dentistry.
(i) The board of examiners in dentistry, with the approval ofthe director, shall promulgate rules and regulations establishing standards forhospital or health maintenance organization supervision of dentists or dentalhygienists by peer review committees. Those regulations, including withoutlimiting their generality, shall require that each hospital or healthmaintenance organization report annually to the board the activities findings,studies and determination of its peer review committees.