(a) The licensee must display a department-approved sign or provide to all patients and consumers a brochure that notifies consumers or recipients of services of the name, mailing address, website, and telephone number of the department and a statement informing consumers or recipients of services that complaints against a licensee can be directed to the department.

(b) The sign shall be conspicuously and prominently displayed in a location where it may be seen by all patients. The consumer brochure, if chosen, must be prominently displayed and available to patients and consumers at all times.

(c) Each defendant practitioner against whom a professional liability claim or complaint has been filed must report the claim or complaint to the department. The information is to be reported by insurers or other entities providing medical professional liability insurance for a practitioner. If an insurance carrier does not adequately report, reporting shall be the responsibility of the practitioner.

(d) One separate report shall be filed for each defendant insured practitioner.

(e) The information must be provided within 30 days of receipt of the claim or suit. A copy of the claim letter or petition must be attached.

(f) The information reported must contain at least the requested data as follows:

(1) There must be enough identification data available to enable department staff to match the closure report to the original file. The data required to accomplish this include: (A) name and license number of defendant practitioner(s); and (B) name of plaintiff; or

(2) A court order or settlement agreement is acceptable and should contain the necessary information to match the closure information to the original file.

(g) Failure by a licensed insurer to report under this section shall be referred to the Texas Department of Insurance and sanctions under the Texas Insurance Code maybe imposed for failure to report.

(h) For the purposes of this section a professional liability claim or complaint shall be defined as a cause of action against a practitioner for treatment, or other claimed departure from accepted standards of medical or health care or safety which proximately results in injury to or death of the patient, whether the patient's claim or cause of action sounds in tort or contract to include interns, residents, supervising practitioner, on-call practitioner, consulting practitioner, and those practitioner who administer, read, or interpret laboratory tests, x-rays, and other diagnostic studies.

(i) Claims that are not required to be reported under this chapter but which may be reported include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) Product liability claims;

(2) antitrust allegations;

(3) allegations involving improper peer review activities;

(4) civil rights violations;

(5) allegations of liability for injuries occurring on a podiatric physician's property, but not involving a breach of duty in the podiatric physician-patient relationship; or

(6) business disputes.

(j) Claims that are not required to be reported under this chapter may however be voluntarily reported pursuant to the provisions of the Act.

Source Note: The provisions of this §130.70 adopted to be effective November 1, 2018, 43 TexReg 6953