Code of Maryland Regulations
Title 10 - MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
Part 4
Subtitle 32 - BOARD OF PHYSICIANS
Chapter 10.32.02 - Hearings Before the Board of Physicians
Section 10.32.02.02 - Definitions
Universal Citation: MD Code Reg 10.32.02.02
Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 19, September 20, 2024
A. In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated.
B. Terms Defined.
(1) "Administrative law judge (ALJ)" means a
hearing officer delegated the duty of conducting evidentiary hearings for the
Board or disciplinary panel.
(2)
"Administrative Procedure Act" means State Government Article, Title 10,
Subtitle 2, Annotated Code of Maryland.
(3) "Administrative prosecutor" means the
attorney assigned from the Office of the Attorney General to prosecute
administrative charges.
(4)
Administrative Reinstatement.
(a)
"Administrative reinstatement" means the reactivation of an inactive or expired
license.
(b) "Administrative
reinstatement" does not include postdisciplinary reinstatement.
(5) "Advisory letter" means a
nonpublic letter issued by a disciplinary panel which informs, educates, or
admonishes an individual licensed by the Board in regard to the practice of
medicine or an allied health profession.
(6) "Allied health professional" means an
individual who is licensed by the Board under:
(a) Health Occupations Article, §§
14-5 A-14-5F, Annotated Code of Maryland; or
(b) Health Occupations Article, Title 15,
Annotated Code of Maryland
(7) "Applicant means an individual who has
submitted an application to:
(a) The Board for
initial licensure or for administrative reinstatement; or
(b) Disciplinary panel for postdisciplinary
reinstatement.
(8)
"Board" means the Maryland State Board of Physicians.
(9) "Board counsel" means the attorney
assigned from the Office of the Attorney General for the purpose of advice on
legal matters before the Board or a disciplinary panel.
(10) "Cease and desist order" means an order
of the Board issued under Health Occupations Article, §14-206(e),
Annotated Code of Maryland, prohibiting an individual from practicing medicine
without a license or from taking an action for which there are grounds for
discipline under Health Occupations Article, §14-404, and which
poses a serious risk to the health, safety, and welfare of a patient
(11) "Charging document" means written
notification that sets forth the grounds upon which the Board or a disciplinary
panel is taking administrative action against the respondent or
applicant.
(12) Complaint.
(a) "Complaint" means an allegation or report
that:
(i) A Board licensee has committed a
prohibited act for which a disciplinary panel can take disciplinary action or
impose a fine;
(ii) An individual
is practicing medicine without a license; or
(iii) A licensed physician has acted
necessitating a Board action under Health Occupations Article, §14-206(e)(2),
Annotated Code of Maryland.
(b) "Complaint" includes, but is not limited
to, the following:
(i) Issuance of a
certificate of merit in a malpractice claim;
(ii) A report from a hospital or related
institution, or an alternative health system, pursuant to Health Occupations
Article, §14-413 or
14-414, Annotated
Code of Maryland;
(iii) A law
enforcement report;
(iv) A report
from another country, state, or jurisdiction or the armed services of the
United States;
(v) A malpractice
insurance report;
(vi) A report
from another federal or state agency or court in any country, state, or
jurisdiction;
(vii) Consumer
complaints;
(viii) Media
publications;
(ix) Statements on
applications for licensure, renewal, or reinstatement; and
(x) Other information, from whatever source,
which warrants investigation.
(13) "Contested case" has the meaning stated
in State Government Article, §10-202(d),
Annotated Code of Maryland.
(14)
"Disciplinary panel" means a panel established under Health Occupations
Article, §14-401, Annotated
Code of Maryland, which:
(a) Is composed of 11
Board members; and
(b) Addresses:
(i) Complaints and disciplinary actions
against licensed physicians and allied health professionals; and
(ii) Postdisciplinary licensure
reinstatements.
(15) "Disposition agreement" means a formal
nonpublic agreement by which the health care provider agrees to comply with
certain conditions and the disciplinary panel stays further investigation or
forgoes further action on a matter based on compliance with those
conditions.
(16) "Final order"
means:
(a) The final written decision of the
Board or disciplinary panel which results from a contested case proceeding or
other formal proceeding and which contains findings of fact, conclusions of
law, and a disposition which:
(i) Denies a
license;
(ii) Sanctions by
reprimand, probation, fine, consent order, suspension, or revocation;
(iii) Dismisses charges;
(iv) Accepts a surrender of a license;
or
(v) Denies administrative
reinstatement of a license;
(b) An order that denies postdisciplinary
reinstatement of a license; or
(c)
An order to cease and desist from the practice of medicine.
(17) "Fine" means a monetary
penalty.
(18) "Imperatively
requires" means that an action shall be undertaken pursuant to State Government
Article, §10-226(c)(2),
Annotated Code of Maryland, as a result of factual contentions which raise a
substantial likelihood of risk of serious harm to the public health, safety, or
welfare before an evidentiary hearing governed by the Administrative Procedure
Act is likely to be completed and result in a final order.
(19) Investigation.
(a) "Investigation" means the gathering of
the information necessary for the Board or a disciplinary panel to determine
one or more of the following:
(i) Whether
there is reasonable cause to charge the respondent with a violation of the
Medical Practice Act or another statute which gives a disciplinary panel
disciplinary authority;
(ii)
Whether an applicant is eligible for licensure or administrative
reinstatement;
(iii) The facts
necessary for the Board to issue a declaratory ruling; or
(iv) Whether an individual has complied with
any disciplinary panel order.
(b) "Investigation" includes:
(i) A preliminary investigation;
and
(ii) A full
investigation.
(20) "Involved medical specialty" means the
area of medical specialty whose practitioners, in the disciplinary panel's
opinion:
(a) Review complaints;
(b) Recommend for full investigation or
closure; and
(c) Make
recommendations as to action on cases under investigation.
(21) "Licensure" means permission to engage
in a health care profession regulated by the Board.
(22) "Medical Practice Act" means Health
Occupations Article, §§14-101 -14-702,
Annotated Code of Maryland.
(23)
"Peer review" means an evaluation by a physician or physicians with special
qualifications to judge the matter at hand, based on professional involvement
within the involved medical specialty or specialties, of an act or acts of
medical or surgical care, or other acts connected with medical practice, by an
applicant or licensee.
(24) "Post
deprivation hearing" means a disciplinary panel hearing scheduled after the
disciplinary panel has issued an order for summary suspension pursuant to State
Government Article, §10-226(c)(2),
Annotated Code of Maryland, and at which the respondent has the opportunity to
explain why the disciplinary panel should rescind the order of summary
suspension.
(25) "Postdisciplinary
reinstatement" means:
(a) The reactivation of
a revoked or suspended license; or
(b) The reactivation of a license surrendered
while the licensee was under investigation or subject to disciplinary
charges.
(26)
"Predeprivation hearing" means a disciplinary panel hearing at which the
respondent has the opportunity to explain why the disciplinary panel should not
issue an order for summary suspension pursuant to State Government Article,
§10-226(c)(2),
Annotated Code of Maryland.
(27)
"Preliminary investigation" means the initial review of a complaint or
application irregularity which is the basis for the decision on whether to
assign the case to a disciplinary panel for a full investigation or whether to
close the investigation due to lack of jurisdiction or because, even if there
were a full investigation, there still would not be a legal or factual basis
for the issuance of a charging document
(28) "Prohibited act" means any conduct for
which the Board or a disciplinary panel can issue a sanction.
(29) "Proposed decision" means the proposed
findings of fact and, where required by the delegation order from the Board or
a disciplinary panel, the proposed conclusions of law and proposed disposition
issued by the administrative law judge.
(30) "Recusal" means disqualification by a
Board or disciplinary panel member from participating in a proceeding because
of a legal interest or prejudice in the case before the Board or disciplinary
panel.
(31) "Respondent" means an
individual who has been:
(a) Given notice to
answer allegations concerning violations of a statute over which the Board or a
disciplinary panel has jurisdiction;
(b) Notified as to a potential summary
suspension pursuant to State Government Article, §10-226(c),
Annotated Code of Maryland; or
(c)
Given notice to answer allegations concerning violations of a Board or
disciplinary panel order.
(32) "Revocation" means the removal of a
health care provider's license to practice a health occupation.
(33) "Sanction" means an action by the Board
or a disciplinary panel which:
(a)
Reprimands;
(b) Places on
probation;
(c) Fines;
(d) Suspends or revokes a license;
(e) Disciplines by a consent order;
or
(f) Accepts a letter of
surrender in lieu of charges or further investigation or prosecution.
(34) "Sanctioning guidelines"
means guidelines set out in Regulation .10 of this chapter, indicating the
minimum and maximum penalty associated with each ground for discipline and
mitigating or aggravating circumstances which could result in imposition of a
penalty below the minimum or above the maximum.
(35) "Show cause" means a demand by letter or
order issued by a disciplinary panel, which directs the respondent to:
(a) Respond either in writing or by an
appearance before the Board or a disciplinary panel; and
(b) Present reasons and argument why a
particular order should not be entered.
(36) "Special qualifications to judge the
matter at hand" means those credentials which qualify a peer reviewer as a
member of the involved medical specialty in a particular case.
(37) "Stay" means the withholding of
disciplinary panel action against a health care provider.
(38) "Stet" means the act of staying further
action in a proceeding, subject to the proceeding being reopened at a later
date.
(39) "Summary suspension"
means a denial for an indefinite period of the right to use a
license.
(40) "Surrender" means the
voluntary relinquishing of a Board license to a disciplinary panel.
(41) "Suspension" means a denial of the right
to use a license.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Maryland may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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