07 LC 33
1985
Senate
Bill 313
By:
Senators Thomas of the 54th, Unterman of the 45th, Goggans of the 7th and
Hawkins of the 49th
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Article 2 of Chapter 34 of Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to physicians, so as to authorize the Composite State Board
of Medical Examiners to enter into a contract with a nonprofit corporation to
conduct impaired physicians programs; to provide for legislative findings; to
provide for a definition; to provide for functions and responsibilities of the
nonprofit contractor; to provide for immunity; to provide for confidentiality of
reports; to provide for reports to the board by the nonprofit contractor; to
provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Article
2 of Chapter 34 of Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to physicians, is amended by revising subsection (h) of Code Section 43-34-21,
relating to creation of the Composite State Board of Medical Examiners, as
follows:
"(h)
The
In addition to
the authority granted pursuant to Code Section 43-34-21.1, the
board shall have the authority to contract
with medical associations or other professionally qualified organizations to
conduct impaired physicians programs."
SECTION
2.
Said
article is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as
follows:
"43-34-21.1.
(a)
It shall be the duty and obligation of the board to promote the early
identification, intervention, treatment, and rehabilitation of physicians
licensed to practice medicine in this state who may be impaired by reason of
illness or use of alcohol, drugs, narcotics, chemicals, or any other type of
material, or as a result of any mental or physical condition.
(b)
For the purposes of this Code section, the term 'impaired' means the inability
of a physician to practice medicine with reasonable skill and safety to patients
by reason of illness or use of alcohol, drugs, narcotics, chemicals, or any
other type of material, or as a result of any mental or physical
condition.
(c)
The board shall have the authority to enter into a contract with a nonprofit
corporation to conduct impaired physicians programs as those functions and
responsibilities are specified in the contract. Such functions and
responsibilities may include any or all of the following:
(1)
Contracting with providers of treatment programs;
(2)
Receiving and evaluating reports of suspected impairment from any
source;
(3)
Intervening in cases of verified impairment;
(4)
Referring impaired physicians to treatment
programs;
(5) Monitoring the treatment and rehabilitation of impaired physicians;
(5) Monitoring the treatment and rehabilitation of impaired physicians;
(6)
Providing post-treatment monitoring and support of rehabilitated impaired
physicians;
(7)
Performing other duties related to paragraph (13) of subsection (a) of Code
Section 43-34-37; and
(8)
Performing such other related activities as determined by the
board.
(d)
Any nonprofit corporation that contracts with the board for the performance of
any functions or duties pursuant to this Code section and in accordance with the
terms of the contract shall, in so doing, be immune from any liability, civil or
criminal, that might otherwise be incurred or imposed.
(e)
All information, interviews, reports, statements, memoranda, or other documents
furnished to or produced by the nonprofit corporation; any findings,
conclusions, recommendations, or reports resulting from the investigations,
interventions, treatment, or rehabilitation; or other proceedings of such
nonprofit corporation are declared to be privileged and confidential and shall
not be subject to Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50, relating to open records.
All records and proceedings of such nonprofit corporation shall be confidential
and shall be used by such nonprofit corporation and the members thereof only in
the exercise of the proper function of the nonprofit corporation and shall not
be public records nor available for court subpoenas or for discovery
proceedings.
(f)
The nonprofit corporation shall report to the board any physician who in the
opinion of the nonprofit corporation is unable to practice medicine with
reasonable skill and safety to patients by reason of illness or use of alcohol,
drugs, narcotics, chemicals, or any other type of material, or as a result of
any mental or physical condition when it appears that such physician is
currently in need of intervention, treatment, or rehabilitation and such
physician has failed or refused to participate in programs of treatment or
rehabilitation recommended by the nonprofit corporation. In any report to the
board made pursuant to the requirements of this subsection, the nonprofit
corporation may forward to the board any and all reports, evaluations, treatment
records, medical records, documents, or information relevant to the physician
upon whom the report is made, unless specifically prohibited by federal law or
regulation, notwithstanding any law or regulation of this state declaring that
such evaluations, information, treatment records, medical records, documents, or
reports are confidential or privileged. All such information, evaluations,
documents, reports, treatment records, or medical records received by the board
in a report submitted pursuant to this subsection shall be privileged and
confidential and shall not be public records nor available for court subpoenas
or for discovery proceedings but may be used by the board in the course of its
investigations and may be introduced as evidence in administrative hearings
conducted by the board.
(g)
If the board has reasonable cause to believe that a physician is impaired, the
board may cause an evaluation of such physician to be conducted by the nonprofit
corporation for the purpose of determining if there is an impairment. The
nonprofit corporation shall report the findings of its evaluation to the
board."
SECTION
3.
Said
article is further amended in Code Section 43-34-37, relating to authority to
refuse license or discipline a physician, by revising paragraph (13) of
subsection (a) as follows:
"(13)
Become unable to practice medicine with reasonable skill and safety to patients
by reason of illness or use of alcohol, drugs, narcotics, chemicals, or any
other type of material, or as a result of any mental or physical
condition:
(A)
In enforcing this paragraph the board may, upon reasonable grounds, require a
licensee or applicant to submit to a mental or physical examination by
physicians designated by the board. The results of such examination shall be
admissible in any hearing before the board, notwithstanding any claim of
privilege under a contrary rule of law or statute, including, but not limited
to, Code Section 24-9-21. Every person who shall accept the privilege of
practicing medicine in this state or who shall file an application for a license
to practice medicine in this state shall be deemed to have given
his
consent to submit to such mental or physical examination and to have waived all
objections to the admissibility of the results in any hearing before the board,
upon the grounds that the same constitutes a privileged communication. If a
licensee or applicant fails to submit to such an examination when properly
directed to do so by the board, unless such failure was due to circumstances
beyond his or
her control, the board may enter a final
order upon proper notice, hearing, and proof of such refusal. Any licensee or
applicant who is prohibited from practicing medicine under this paragraph shall
at reasonable intervals be afforded an opportunity to demonstrate to the board
that he or
she can resume or begin the practice of
medicine with reasonable skill and safety to patients;
(B)
For the purposes of this paragraph, the board
and a
nonprofit corporation which has entered into a contract with the board pursuant
to Code Section 43-34-21.1, if provided for in the
contract, may, upon reasonable grounds,
obtain any and all records relating to the mental or physical condition of a
licensee or applicant, including psychiatric records; and such records shall be
admissible in any hearing before the board, notwithstanding any privilege under
a contrary rule of law or statute, including, but not limited to, Code Section
24-9-21. Every person who shall accept the privilege of practicing medicine in
this state or who shall file an application to practice medicine in this state
shall be deemed to have given
his
consent to the board´s obtaining any such records and to have waived all
objections to the admissibility of such records in any hearing before the board,
upon the grounds that the same constitute a privileged communication;
and
(C)
If any licensee or applicant could, in the absence of this paragraph, invoke a
privilege to prevent the disclosure of the results of the examination provided
for in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph or the records relating to the mental
or physical condition of such licensee or applicant obtained pursuant to
subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, all such information shall be received by
the board in camera and shall not be disclosed to the public, nor shall any part
of the record containing such information be used against any licensee or
applicant in any other type of proceeding.
In
enforcing this paragraph, a nonprofit corporation which has entered into a
contract with the board pursuant to Code Section 43-34-21.1 shall be authorized
to perform any functions or duties provided under this paragraph if specifically
provided in the
contract."
SECTION
4.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.