MANDATORY REPORTING TO THE STATE MEDICAL BOARD

Summaries, reports and records required to be sent by physicians, hospitals, medical societies, and insurers to the State Medical Board are confidential and not subject to discovery in any civil action. Information obtained by the Board may only be used as a basis for investigation or as evidence in a disciplinary hearing by the Board or subsequent trial or appeal of a Board order. Information may only be disclosed to hospital committees in or outside Ohio involved in credentialling or re-credentialling. The Board must indicate whether or not information has been verified. The transmitted information is subject to the same confidentiality as when held by the Board. ORC § 4731.224 (F)

A copy of reports required of hospitals, medical societies and insurers must be sent to the physician who was the subject of the report. The physician can file a statement with the Board concerning correctness or relevance which must accompany that part of the record in contention. ORC § 4731.224 (G)

A failure to report by hospitals, licensees, medical societies, and insurers is a minor misdemeanor for a first offense, and a misdemeanor of the fourth degree for subsequent offenses, with a maximum fine of $1,000. ORC § 4731.99 (E)

MANDATORY REPORTING, HOSPITALS

Hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers are required to report to the State Medical Board formal disciplinary actions against physicians for violations of professional ethics, medical incompetence, medical malpractice, or drug or alcohol abuse within sixty (60) days after completion of the disciplinary action. The Board is to be provided with copies of any patient records (without patient identifiers) that formed the basis for action and a summary of the underlying facts approved by the peer review committee that reviewed the case. Formal disciplinary action means revocation, restriction, reduction, or termination of clinical privileges, but does not include any action taken for the sole reason of failure to maintain records on a timely basis or failure to attend staff or section meetings. ORC § 4731.224 (A)

An impaired practitioner committee of a hospital is not required to report a physician with substance abuse problems if the physician has consented to go into treatment in an approved treatment program. If there is reason to believe the physician has ceased treatment or that the physician has violated other provisions of the Medical Practice Act, the State Medical Board must be notified. ORC § 4731.224 (B)

MANDATORY REPORTING, PHYSICIANS AND PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

"If any individual licensed under this chapter...believes that a violation of any provision of this chapter (i.e., the Medical Practice Act) has occurred, the individual ...shall report to the Board the information upon which the belief is based. This division does not require any person or organization that is a treatment provider approved by the Board...or any employee, agent, or representative of such a provider to make reports with respect to a practitioner participating in treatment or aftercare so long as the practitioner maintains participation in accordance with the requirements of section 4731.25 of the Revised Code (impaired practitioner treatment), and so long as the...individual has no reason to believe that the practitioner has violated any provision of this chapter...or any rule of the Board other than the provisions of division (B)(26) of section 4731.22 of the Revised Code (impairment of ability to practice because of habitual or excessive use or abuse of drugs, alcohol, or other substances that impair ability to practice). ORC § 4731.224 (B)

Professional societies and associations are required to report to the State Medical Board suspensions or revocations of membership for violations of professional ethics, professional incompetence, or professional malpractice within sixty (60) days after a final decision. A summary of the underlying facts is to be provided to the Board. ORC § 4731.224 (C) Professional societies and associations are also required to report if there is any belief that a violation of the Medical Practice Act has occurred. ORC § 4731.224 (B)

The association, any peer assistance program established by the association, or any member of an association's peer assistance committee is not required to report a physician with substance abuse problems if the physician has consented to go into treatment in an approved treatment program. If there is reason to believe the physician has ceased treatment, or if the physician has violated other provisions of the Medical Practice Act, the State Medical Board must be notified. ORC § 4731.224 (B)

MANDATORY REPORTING, INSURERS

Insurance companies providing professional liability insurance to any Ohio physician, or any other entity seeking to indemnify the professional liability of any Ohio physician, are required to report to the State Medical Board settlements or judgments resulting in payment that exceeds $25,000 within thirty (30) days after final disposition. ORC § 4731.224 (D)

MANDATORY REPORTING, PROSECUTORS

Prosecutors are required to report to the State Medical Board any case where a physician has been charged and where there has been a guilty plea, a finding of guilt, or a dismissal upon technical or procedural grounds of a felony, a misdemeanor in the course of practice, or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude. ORC § 4731.223

(See also: CREDENTIALS COMMITTEE;  DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS BY THE STATE MEDICAL BOARD;  IMPAIRED PHYSICIANS, TREATMENT OF)

MANDATORY REPORTING TO THE STATE MEDICAL BOARD