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California Business And Professions Code Section 803.1

Legal Research Home > California Lawyer > Business and Professions Code > California Business And Professions Code Section 803.1

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Medical
Board of California, the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, and
the California Board of Podiatric Medicine shall disclose to an
inquiring member of the public information regarding any enforcement
actions taken against a licensee by either board or by another state
or jurisdiction, including all of the following:
   (1) Temporary restraining orders issued.
   (2) Interim suspension orders issued.
   (3) Revocations, suspensions, probations, or limitations on
practice ordered by the board, including those made part of a
probationary order or stipulated agreement.
   (4) Public letters of reprimand issued.
   (5) Infractions, citations, or fines imposed.
   (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in addition to the
information provided in subdivision (a), the Medical Board of
California, the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, and the
California Board of Podiatric Medicine shall disclose to an inquiring
member of the public all of the following:
   (1) Civil judgments in any amount, whether or not vacated by a
settlement after entry of the judgment, that were not reversed on
appeal and arbitration awards in any amount of a claim or action for
damages for death or personal injury caused by the physician and
surgeon's negligence, error, or omission in practice, or by his or
her rendering of unauthorized professional services.
   (2) (A) All settlements in the possession, custody, or control of
the board shall be disclosed for a licensee in the low-risk category
if there are three or more settlements for that licensee within the
last 10 years, except for settlements by a licensee regardless of the
amount paid where (i) the settlement is made as a part of the
settlement of a class claim, (ii) the licensee paid in settlement of
the class claim the same amount as the other licensees in the same
class or similarly situated licensees in the same class, and (iii)
the settlement was paid in the context of a case where the complaint
that alleged class liability on behalf of the licensee also alleged a
products liability class action cause of action. All settlements in
the possession, custody, or control of the board shall be disclosed
for a licensee in the high-risk category if there are four or more
settlements for that licensee within the last 10 years except for
settlements by a licensee regardless of the amount paid where (i) the
settlement is made as a part of the settlement of a class claim,
(ii) the licensee paid in settlement of the class claim the same
amount as the other licensees in the same class or similarly situated
licensees in the same class, and (iii) the settlement was paid in
the context of a case where the complaint that alleged class
liability on behalf of the licensee also alleged a products liability
class action cause of action. Classification of a licensee in either
a "high-risk category" or a "low-risk category" depends upon the
specialty or subspecialty practiced by the licensee and the
designation assigned to that specialty or subspecialty by the Medical
Board of California, as described in subdivision (f). For the
purposes of this paragraph, "settlement" means a settlement of an
action described in paragraph (1) entered into by the licensee on or
after January 1, 2003, in an amount of thirty thousand dollars
($30,000) or more.
   (B) The board shall not disclose the actual dollar amount of a
settlement but shall put the number and amount of the settlement in
context by doing the following:
   (i) Comparing the settlement amount to the experience of other
licensees within the same specialty or subspecialty, indicating if it
is below average, average, or above average for the most recent
10-year period.
   (ii) Reporting the number of years the licensee has been in
practice.
   (iii) Reporting the total number of licensees in that specialty or
subspecialty, the number of those who have entered into a settlement
agreement, and the percentage that number represents of the total
number of licensees in the specialty or subspecialty.
   (3) Current American Board of Medical Specialty certification or
board equivalent as certified by the Medical Board of California, the
Osteopathic Medical Board of California, or the California Board of
Podiatric Medicine.
   (4) Approved postgraduate training.
   (5) Status of the license of a licensee. By January 1, 2004, the
Medical Board of California, the Osteopathic Medical Board of
California, and the California Board of Podiatric Medicine shall
adopt regulations defining the status of a licensee. The board shall
employ this definition when disclosing the status of a licensee
pursuant to Section 2027.
   (6) Any summaries of hospital disciplinary actions that result in
the termination or revocation of a licensee's staff privileges for
medical disciplinary cause or reason.
   (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Medical Board
of California, the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, and the
California Board of Podiatric Medicine shall disclose to an inquiring
member of the public information received regarding felony
convictions of a physician and surgeon or doctor of podiatric
medicine.
   (d) The Medical Board of California, the Osteopathic Medical Board
of California, and the California Board of Podiatric Medicine may
formulate appropriate disclaimers or explanatory statements to be
included with any information released, and may by regulation
establish categories of information that need not be disclosed to an
inquiring member of the public because that information is unreliable
or not sufficiently related to the licensee's professional practice.
The Medical Board of California, the Osteopathic Medical Board of
California, and the California Board of Podiatric Medicine shall
include the following statement when disclosing information
concerning a settlement:
   "Some studies have shown that there is no significant correlation
between malpractice history and a doctor's competence. At the same
time, the State of California believes that consumers should have
access to malpractice information. In these profiles, the State of
California has given you information about both the malpractice
settlement history for the doctor's specialty and the doctor's
history of settlement payments only if in the last 10 years, the
doctor, if in a low-risk specialty, has three or more settlements or
the doctor, if in a high-risk specialty, has four or more
settlements. The State of California has excluded some class action
lawsuits because those cases are commonly related to systems issues
such as product liability, rather than questions of individual
professional competence and because they are brought on a class basis
where the economic incentive for settlement is great. The State of
California has placed payment amounts into three statistical
categories: below average, average, and above average compared to
others in the doctor's specialty. To make the best health care
decisions, you should view this information in perspective. You could
miss an opportunity for high-quality care by selecting a doctor
based solely on malpractice history.
   When considering malpractice data, please keep in mind:
   Malpractice histories tend to vary by specialty. Some specialties
are more likely than others to be the subject of litigation. This
report compares doctors only to the members of their specialty, not
to all doctors, in order to make an individual doctor's history more
meaningful.
   This report reflects data only for settlements made on or after
January 1, 2003. Moreover, it includes information concerning those
settlements for a 10-year period only. Therefore, you should know
that a doctor may have made settlements in the 10 years immediately
preceding January 1, 2003, that are not included in this report.
After January 1, 2013, for doctors practicing less than 10 years, the
data covers their total years of practice. You should take into
account the effective date of settlement disclosure as well as how
long the doctor has been in practice when considering malpractice
averages.
   The incident causing the malpractice claim may have happened years
before a payment is finally made. Sometimes, it takes a long time
for a malpractice lawsuit to settle. Some doctors work primarily with
high-risk patients. These doctors may have malpractice settlement
histories that are higher than average because they specialize in
cases or patients who are at very high risk for problems.
   Settlement of a claim may occur for a variety of reasons that do
not necessarily reflect negatively on the professional competence or
conduct of the doctor. A payment in settlement of a medical
malpractice action or claim should not be construed as creating a
presumption that medical malpractice has occurred.
   You may wish to discuss information in this report and the general
issue of malpractice with your doctor."
   (e) The Medical Board of California, the Osteopathic Medical Board
of California, and the California Board of Podiatric Medicine shall,
by regulation, develop standard terminology that accurately
describes the different types of disciplinary filings and actions to
take against a licensee as described in paragraphs (1) to (5),
inclusive, of subdivision (a). In providing the public with
information about a licensee via the Internet pursuant to Section
2027, the Medical Board of California, the Osteopathic Medical Board
of California, and the California Board of Podiatric Medicine shall
not use the terms "enforcement," "discipline," or similar language
implying a sanction unless the physician and surgeon has been the
subject of one of the actions described in paragraphs (1) to (5),
inclusive, of subdivision (a).
   (f) The Medical Board of California shall adopt regulations no
later than July 1, 2003, designating each specialty and subspecialty
practice area as either high risk or low risk. In promulgating these
regulations, the board shall consult with commercial underwriters of
medical malpractice insurance companies, health care systems that
self-insure physicians and surgeons, and representatives of the
California medical specialty societies. The board shall utilize the
carriers' statewide data to establish the two risk categories and the
averages required by subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of
subdivision (b). Prior to issuing regulations, the board shall
convene public meetings with the medical malpractice carriers,
self-insurers, and specialty representatives.
   (g) The Medical Board of California, the Osteopathic Medical Board
of California, and the California Board of Podiatric Medicine shall
provide each licensee with a copy of the text of any proposed public
disclosure authorized by this section prior to release of the
disclosure to the public. The licensee shall have 10 working days
from the date the board provides the copy of the proposed public
disclosure to propose corrections of factual inaccuracies. Nothing in
this section shall prevent the board from disclosing information to
the public prior to the expiration of the 10-day period.
   (h) Pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision
(b), the specialty or subspecialty information required by this
section shall group physicians by specialty board recognized pursuant
to paragraph (5) of subdivision (h) of Section 651 unless a
different grouping would be more valid and the board, in its
statement of reasons for its regulations, explains why the validity
of the grouping would be more valid.

Last modified: January 12, 2009