Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a)
Entities Required to Report
Section 26 of the Act requires that the chief administrator or
executive officer of any health care institution licensed by the Department of
Public Health report to the Board concerning impaired persons. All instances in
which a person licensed under the Podiatric Medical Practice Act of 1987 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, must be reported to the Board. The reports, as described in
subsection (f), must contain sufficient current information to enable the Board
to evaluate the impairment and determine the appropriateness of the supervision
of the program of rehabilitation. If the Board finds the supervision or
treatment plan submitted by the institution is not sufficient to meet the needs
of the individual, the Board may direct the facility to work with Division
staff to revise the plan or treatment to meet the specific objections. Reports
must be filed with the Board by the following entities:
1) The president or chief executive officer
of any association or society of podiatric physicians licensed under the Act
and 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.
2) Every insurance company that offers
policies of professional liability insurance to persons licensed under the Act,
or any other entity that seeks to indemnify the professional liability of a
podiatric physician licensed under the 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 a
person licensed under the Act when a settlement or final judgment is in favor
of the plaintiff.
3) The State's
Attorney of each county shall report to the Board all instances in which a
person licensed under the Act is convicted or otherwise found guilty of the
commission of any felony.
4) All
agencies, boards, commissions, departments, or other instrumentalities the
State of Illinois shall report to the Board any instance arising in connection
with the operations of an agency, including the administration of any law by an
agency, in which a podiatric physician licensed under the Act has either
committed an act or acts that may be a violation of the Act or that may
constitute unprofessional conduct related directly to patient care or that
indicates that a podiatric physician licensed under the Act may be mentally or
physically disabled in a manner that may endanger patients under that
physician's care.
b)
Contents of Reports. Reports of impaired persons shall be submitted in writing,
on forms provided by the Division, which shall include, but not be limited to,
the following information:
1) The name,
address, telephone number and title of the person making the report;
2) The name, address, telephone number and
type of health care institution where the maker of the report is
employed;
3) The name, address,
telephone number, and professional license number of the person who is the
subject of the report;
4) A means
of identification used by the institution 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; and further
provided that the Board may require disclosure of the name, address and
telephone number of any such patient if it deems such information necessary to
an evaluation of the impairment or a determination of the appropriateness of
the supervision or program of rehabilitation;
5) The nature of the impairment and 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;
6) The terms and conditions
of the supervision under which the subject of the report is conducting his/her
activities or practice, including the date supervision commenced; the term of
the supervision; the name, address and telephone number of the person in charge
of the subject's supervision; and a written consent executed by the subject of
the report, authorizing the Board, the Division staff or other designated
representative of the Board to contact the person in charge of the subject's
supervision for information, including written documentation, in order to
evaluate the progress of the subject's supervision;
7) If the subject of the report is in a
program of rehabilitation, the name, address and telephone number of the
program and the name and position of any individual in charge of the program;
and
8) Any other information deemed
by the reporting person to be of assistance to the Board and the Division staff
in evaluating the report, including, but not limited to, the following items:
drug screens being used and their status; relapses and actions taken;
attendance at work; observations of recovery status and level of cooperation in
recovery; other psychopathology; known related physical and mental illnesses;
involvement of the family and others in treatment or supervision; and a copy of
the aftercare agreement.
c) Reports of impaired persons shall be
submitted to the Board in a timely manner. The initial report shall be
submitted on forms provided by the Division within 60 days after it is
determined that a report is necessary under the Act and this Part. Periodic
reports (which evidence written documentation of the progress of suspension or
rehabilitation) shall thereafter be submitted to the Board every 6 months,
commencing with the time of the filing of the initial report. A copy of each
report shall be sent by the person making the report to the impaired
person.
d) Confidentiality
1) The contents of any report shall be
strictly confidential, except as otherwise provided in this subsection, and
exempt from public disclosure, but may be reviewed by:
A) Members of the Board or their
designees;
B) The Board's
designated attorneys;
C) The
Division staff;
D) Administrative
personnel assigned to open mail containing reports and to process and
distribute said reports to authorized persons, and to communicate with senders
of reports; and
E) The person who
is the subject of the report, his/her attorney or his/her authorized
representative (as evidenced by a written authorization signed by the person
who is the subject of the report).
2) The reports may also be handled or
processed by other designated persons in a limited manner necessary to
implement reports required under this Act by computer, word processing
equipment or other mechanical means. The data record shall be limited to the
name and address of the originator of the report, the date the initial report
was received, the date of the most recent report and the professional license
number of the subject of the report.
3) The contents of the confidential reports
relating to impaired persons shall not be used or made available in any other
administrative proceedings before the Division or any other department of State
government; however, violations of the treatment or supervision plan will
result in a review of the person's status by the Board or its designees for
possible discipline or revision in the treatment or supervision plan. Such
reports shall not be disclosed, made available or subject to subpoena or
discovery proceedings in any civil or criminal court proceedings.
e) Upon a determination by the
Board that a report on an impaired person no longer requires review and
consideration, the Board shall notify the maker of the report to cease sending
such reports and the Board and Division records shall be purged of information
contained in the report. Such determinations shall be based on, but not be
limited to: the type of impairment, type of rehabilitation program, length of
supervision, occurrence of any relapses and present status of
license.
f) When any chief
administrative or chief executive officer of any health care institution making
a report or providing other information to the Board, or assisting the Board
concerning an impaired person, acts in good faith and not in a willful and
wanton manner, said chief administrative or chief executive officer and the
health care institution employing him/her shall not, as a result of such
actions, be subject to criminal prosecution or civil damages (Section 23(c) of
the Act).
g) The following
definitions shall apply to this Section:
1)
"Impaired" means the inability to practice podiatric medicine with reasonable
skill and safety due to physical or mental disabilities, as evidenced by a
written evaluation or clinical evidence that reveals a deterioration of the
podiatric physician's ability to deliver competent care due to problems related
to aging, loss of motor skill, abuse of drugs or alcohol or mental
illness.
2) "Under supervision"
means that the performance of the impaired person's clinical privileges and
status of the person's impairment is being observed and monitored under the
authority of a written directive issued in accordance with a health care
institution's or medical staff's bylaws or rules and regulations.
