(1)
Purpose of the Program. The Physician Profile Program,
established by St. 1996, c. 307, provides for public access to information about
physicians. This law, codified at M.G.L. c. 112, § 5, is also referred to as
the Physician Profile Law. The Profiles Program is intended to give patients and
consumers access to information on the education, training and clinical
experience of all physicians holding or having held a full license.
(2)
Content of a
Profile. Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 112, § 5, the Board shall
collect and maintain a public profile on each physician with a full, active or
inactive license under M.G.L. c. 112, § 2. The Board shall create individual
physician profiles on licensees and disseminate this information to the public.
Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 112, § 5, the following information shall be on a
public profile:
(a) for any criminal convictions
for felonies and serious misdemeanors in all jurisdictions;
1. The Board shall determine what constitutes a
"serious misdemeanor";
2. For the
purposes of 243 CMR 2.15, a person shall be considered to be convicted of a crime
if the person pleaded guilty or was found or adjudged guilty by a court of
competent jurisdiction; and
(b) any charges for felonies and serious
misdemeanors to which a physician pleads nolo contendere or
where sufficient facts of guilt were found and the matter was continued without a
finding by a court of competent jurisdiction;
(c) any final Board disciplinary
actions;
(d) any final disciplinary
actions by licensing boards in other states;
(e) any revocation or involuntary restriction
of privileges by a hospital, clinic or nursing home under chapter 111, or of any
employer who employs physicians licensed by the Board for the purpose of engaging
in the practice of medicine in the commonwealth, for reasons related to
competence or character that have been taken by the governing body or any other
official of the hospital, clinic or nursing home or employer who employs
physicians licensed by the Board for the purpose of engaging in the practice of
medicine in the Commonwealth after procedural due process has been afforded, or
the resignation from or nonrenewal of medical staff membership or the restriction
of privileges at a hospital, clinic or nursing home or employer who employs
physicians licensed by the Board for the purpose of engaging in the practice of
medicine in the Commonwealth taken in lieu of or in settlement
of a pending disciplinary case related to competence or character in that
hospital, clinic or nursing home or of any employer who employs physicians
licensed by the Board for the purpose of engaging in the practice of medicine or
employer who employs physicians licensed by the Board for the purpose of engaging
in the practice of medicine in the Commonwealth;
(f) all medical malpractice court judgments,
all medical malpractice arbitration awards in which a payment is awarded to a
complaining party, and all settlements of medical malpractice claims in which a
payment is made to a complaining party in all jurisdictions;
1. Information concerning paid medical
malpractice claims within the Commonwealth shall be put in context by comparing
an individual licensee's medical malpractice judgment awards and settlements to
the experience of other physicians within the same specialty.
2. Dispositions of paid claims within the
Commonwealth shall be reported in a minimum of 3 graduated categories indicating
the level of significance of the award or settlement.
3. Dispositions of paid claims in other
jurisdictions shall not be reported in graduated categories unless this
information is provided to the Board by the medical board in the other
jurisdiction where the claim occurred.
4. Information concerning all settlements shall
be accompanied by the following statement: "Settlement of a claim may occur for a
variety of reasons which do not necessarily reflect negatively on the
professional competence or conduct of the physician. A payment in settlement of a
medical malpractice action or claim should not be construed as creating a
presumption that medical malpractice has occurred."
5. Nothing herein shall be construed to limit
or prevent the Board from providing further explanatory information regarding the
significance of categories in which settlements are reported.
6. Pending malpractice claims shall not be
disclosed by the Board to the public.
7. Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent
the Board from investigating and disciplining a licensee on the basis of medical
malpractice claims that are pending.
8. Payments made as part of a disclosure,
apology and early offer program, shall not be construed to be reportable to or by
the Board against the physician, absent a determination of substandard care
rendered on the part of said physician; and
(g) names of medical schools and dates of
graduation; (h) graduate medical education;
(i) specialty board certification;
(j) number of years in practice;
(k) names of the hospitals where the licensee
has privileges;
(l) appointments to
medical school faculties and indication as to whether a licensee has a
responsibility for graduate medical education within the most recent ten
years;
(m) information regarding
publications in peer-reviewed medical literature within the most recent ten
years;
(n) information regarding
professional or community service activities and awards; and
(o) the location of the licensee's primary
practice setting;
(p) the
identification of any translating services that may be available at the
licensee's primary practice location; and
(q) an indication of whether the licensee
participates in the Medicaid program.
(3)
Mandatory Public
Profile. Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 112, § 5, all full licensees
must have a public Physician Profile.
(a) The
Board shall provide an initial licensee with a copy of his or her profile prior
to its release to the public. An initial licensee shall have 14 days from the
receipt of the draft profile to report to the Board a claim of factual inaccuracy
appearing in the profile. Upon receipt of a physician's claim, Board staff may
place a temporary administrative hold on the dissemination of the
profile.
(b) The Board shall provide
a licensee with notice of a change in the licensee's public profile when the
Board receives notice of a change in information that must be reported to the
public pursuant to M.G.L. c. 112, § 5.
(4)
Optional
Information. A physician may elect to have his or her profile
include certain information, detailed in M.G.L. c. 112, § 5, such as
academic appointments and teaching responsibilities, publications in
peer-reviewed journals and professional and community service awards.
(5)
Profile Inquiry. A
licensee may review his or her public profile on the Internet at any time. A
licensee may inquire about the accuracy of a fact published or about to be
published on his or her profile. A licensee's inquiry about the contents of his
or her Physician Profile is not an adjudicatory proceeding as defined in M.G.L.
c. 30A, § 1. The licensee may file with the Data Repository a written
request for review of the publication of a fact adverse to the licensee's
interest. The licensee's inquiry must clearly identify the factual error claimed
and may propose a correction acceptable to the licensee. Upon receipt of a letter
of inquiry from a physician, Board staff may place a temporary administrative
hold on the dissemination of the profile. Such a temporary hold shall not last
longer than the pendency of the profile inquiry. The Board may review the written
materials and respond to the licensee's inquiry
