Current through Register 1531, September 27, 2024
(1)
Communications. All written correspondence should be
addressed to and filed with the Board of Registration in Medicine, 200 Harvard
Mills Square, Suite 330, Wakefield, MA 01880.
(2)
(a)
Service. The Board shall provide notice of its actions
in accordance with the Standard Adjudicatory Rules,
801 CMR 1.01(4)(b) and
(5)(f), or otherwise with reasonable attempts
at in-hand service, unless the Respondent otherwise has actual notice of the
Board's action. Where
243 CMR 1.00 provides that the
Board must notify parties, service may be made by first class mail. A notice of
appearance on behalf of a Respondent shall be deemed an agreement to accept
service of any document on behalf of the Respondent, including a Final Decision
and Order of the Board. When a Hearing Officer has jurisdiction over an
adjudicatory proceeding, proper service by the Respondent includes filing
copies of all papers and exhibits with:
1.
the Board, care of its General Counsel;
2. the Hearing Officer assigned to the
adjudicatory proceeding; and
3. the
Associate Prosecutor assigned to the adjudicatory proceeding. All papers served
must be accompanied by a certificate of service.
(b)
Notice to Board
Members. A Respondent (or his or her representative) and other
persons shall not engage in ex parte communications with
individual Board members regarding a disciplinary proceeding. Communications to
Board members regarding disciplinary proceedings shall be in writing and
directed to Board members as follows: Eight copies to the Executive Director,
one copy to the General Counsel, and one copy to the Chief of the Disciplinary
Unit.
(3)
Date of Receipt. Communications are deemed received on
the date of actual receipt by the Board.
(4)
Computation of
Time. The Board shall compute time in accordance with
801 CMR
1.01(4)(c): Notice
of Agency Actions.
(5)
Extension of Time. The Board in its discretion may
extend any time limit prescribed or allowed by
243 CMR 1.00.
(6)
Identification and Signature;
Paper Size. All papers filed with the Board in the course of a
disciplinary proceeding must contain the name, address, and telephone number of
the party making the filing and must be signed by either the party or an
authorized representative. Paper size shall be 81/2" by 11".
(7)
Decisions by the Board;
Quorum. Unless
243 CMR 1.00 provides
otherwise, a majority of members present and voting at a Board meeting shall
make all decisions and the Board shall record its decisions in the minutes of
its meetings. A quorum is a majority of the Board, excluding
vacancies.
(8)
Availability of Board Records to the Public.
(a) The availability of the Board's records
to the public is governed by the provisions of the Public Records Law, M.G.L.
c. 66, § 10, and M.G.L. c. 4, § 7, clause 26, as limited by the
confidentiality provisions of M.G.L. c. 112, §§ 5 through 5I and 243
CMR. A file or some portion of it is not a public record if the Board
determines that disclosure may constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal
privacy, prejudice the effectiveness of law enforcement efforts (if the records
were necessarily compiled out of public view), violate any provision of state
or federal law, or if the records are otherwise legally exempt from
disclosure.
(b) Before the Board
issues a Statement of Allegations, dismisses a complaint, or takes other final
action, the Board's records concerning a disciplinary matter are
confidential.
(c) The Board's
records of disciplinary matters, as limited by 243 CMR 1.02(8)(a) and (b),
include the following:
1. Closed complaint
files, which contain the complaint and other information in matters which have
been dismissed or otherwise resolved without adjudication, are public records.
The name or a complainant or patient and relevant medical records shall be
disclosed to the Respondent, but this information is otherwise confidential.
The names of reviewers and the contents of complaint reviews shall be
confidential.
2. Disciplinary Unit
files, which contain portions of complaint files (and related confidential
files) as well as papers related to adjudicatory proceedings and attorney work
product, are not public records and are confidential.
3. The Board's files, which contain each
paper filed with the Board in connection with an adjudicatory proceeding, are
public records, unless otherwise impounded or placed under seal by the Hearing
Officer or the Board.
4. Peer
review information and records shall remain confidential, to the extent
allowable under M.G.L. c. 111, § 204 and
243 CMR
3.04: Confidentiality of Records and
Information, unless introduced into evidence in an adjudicatory
proceeding.
5. Records of any Board
unit's review and investigation of statutory reports, consistent with
243 CMR
1.03(14); are not public
records and are confidential.
6.
Closed anonymous complaints, which are determined to be frivolous or lacking in
either legal merit or factual basis, consistent with
243 CMR
1.03(3)(a); are not public
records and are confidential.
(d) Communications or complaints reviewed by
the Complaint Committee prior to August 21, 1987 and not docketed for reasons
other than the criteria set forth in
243 CMR
1.03(3)(a), shall be made
available to the public as if they were closed complaint files under 243 CMR
1.02(8)(c)1., whether or not such documents were previously considered to be
confidential Board records, unless release is otherwise limited by law or
regulations.
(9)
Public Nature of Board Meetings Under
243 CMR 1.00.
(a) All meetings of the Board are open to the
public to the extent required by M.G.L. c. 30A, § 20.
(b) As provided by M.G.L. c. 30A, § 20,
a Board meeting held for the purpose of making a decision required in an
adjudicatory proceeding is not open to the public. Evidentiary hearings before
individual hearing officers are generally open to the public, but the Board may
carry out its functions under
243 CMR 1.00 in closed session
if these functions effect an individual licensee or patient, the licensee or
patient requests that the Board function in closed session, and the Board or
hearing officer determines that functioning in closed session would be
consistent with law and in the public interest.
(10)
Conditional Privilege of
Communications with the Board. All communications with the Board
charging misconduct, or reporting or providing information to the Board
pursuant to M.G.L. c. 112, §§ 5 through 5I, or assisting the Board in
any manner in discharging its duties and functions, are privileged, and a
person making a communication is privileged from liability based upon the
communication unless the person makes the communication in bad faith or for a
malicious reason. This limitation on liability is established by M.G.L. c. 112,
§§ 5 and 5G(b).
(11)
State or Federal Agencies, Boards or Institutions Designated to
Receive Investigative Records or Confidential Information.
Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 112, § 5, the Board will review written requests for
investigative records or other confidential information from the following
agencies which are hereby designated to receive, upon Board approval, such
information consistent with the Fair Information Practices Act (FIPA), M.G.L.
c. 66A:
(a) Massachusetts Department of the
Attorney General;
(b) Offices of
the Massachusetts District Attorneys;
(c) Massachusetts Municipal Police
Departments;
(d) Massachusetts
State Police;
(e) Federal Trade
Commission;
(f) Office of the
United States Attorney;
(g) U.S.
Postal Inspector;
(h) U.S.
Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Federal Bureau of
Investigation;
(i) Division of Professional
Licensure;
(j) All other state
Medical Boards;
(k) The Federation
of State Medical Boards of the United States, Inc.;
(l) Division of Insurance and the Insurance
Rating Bureau;
(m) Massachusetts
Health Data Consortium, Inc.;
(n)
Department of Public Health;
(o)
Massachusetts Department of Revenue;
(p) U.S. Internal Revenue Service;
(q) Office of Chief Medical
Examiner;
(r) Capitol
Police;
(s) U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General;
(t) Insurance Fraud Bureau of
Massachusetts.
(u) Department of
Industrial Accidents.
(v) Division
of Medical Assistance, Executive Office of Health and Human Services.
All recipients of confidential information designated by
243 CMR 1.00 shall preserve
the confidentiality of such data and make it available to the data subject, to
the extent such access is required by FIPA.
(12)
Membership of
Committees. The Board may establish committees of its members to
assist in accomplishing its responsibilities. The Board may designate former
members for assignment to these committees; however, at least one member of
each committee shall be a current member of the Board.
