(a) A complainant may initiate a complaint by submitting the information concerning the complaint to the board. This information should include at a minimum:
  (1) The name and contact information of the complainant;
  (2) The name of the licensee against who the complaint is filed;
  (3) The time and place of the alleged violation of the Act; and
  (4) If applicable, the name and birth date of the patient who the physician has allegedly harmed.
(b) The board may file a complaint on its own initiative.
(c) The identity of a complainant, as well as the complaint itself, is part of the investigative information gathered by board employees and shall remain confidential. All complaints must provide sufficient information to identify the source or the name of the person who filed the complaint. Confidentiality shall be waived only by a written statement of the complainant specifically waiving confidentiality or by the complainant testifying in a contested case hearing. Notwithstanding the previous provisions, the name and address of an insurance agent, insurer, pharmaceutical company or third-party administrator that files a complaint against a physician shall be reported to the subject physician within 15 days of receipt by the board, unless the notice would jeopardize an investigation.
(d) A peer review committee, licensee, and all other groups named in §§160.003, 204.208, 205.304, and 206.159 of the Act shall report relevant information to the board relating to the acts of the licensee in this state if, in their opinion, that licensee poses a continuing threat to the public welfare through the licensee's continued practice. The report shall include a narrative statement describing the time, date, and place of the acts or omissions on which the report is based; and it shall be made to the board as soon as possible after the threat is identified and the relevant information can be assembled.

Source Note: The provisions of this §178.4 adopted to be effective November 30, 2003, 28 TexReg 10489; amended to be effective January 25, 2006, 31 TexReg 390; amended to be effective December 4, 2011, 36 TexReg 8031