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91_HB2143
LRB9101910ACtmA
1 AN ACT regarding the corporate practice of medicine and
2 health care services.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
6 Corporate Practice of Medicine and Health Care Services Act.
7 Section 5. Legislative intent. The General Assembly
8 recognizes that patient care and treatment depends upon the
9 ability of physicians and other health care professionals to
10 exercise professional judgment and apply the skill,
11 knowledge, and experience received in professional training
12 to the unique needs of individual patients. The General
13 Assembly finds that the demands of the health care services
14 marketplace often conflict with the ability of a physician or
15 other health care professional to exercise professional
16 judgment for the benefit of patients.
17 It is the intent of the General Assembly to provide
18 protections for patients by reducing corporate or financial
19 impediments to a physician's or other health care
20 professional's ability to exercise professional judgment.
21 Section 10. Definitions.
22 "Affiliate" means an entity that directly or indirectly
23 is controlled by or is under the common control of a hospital
24 licensed under the Hospital Licensing Act or a hospital
25 organized under the University of Illinois Hospital Act.
26 "Department" means the Department of Professional
27 Regulation.
28 "Director" means the Director of Professional Regulation.
29 "Employing entity" means a hospital licensed under the
30 Hospital Licensing Act, an affiliate of a licensed hospital,
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1 an ambulatory surgical treatment center licensed under the
2 Ambulatory Surgical Treatment Center Act, a health
3 maintenance organization pursuant to the Health Maintenance
4 Organization Act, a limited health services organization
5 pursuant to the Limited Health Service Organization Act, a
6 voluntary health services plan pursuant to the Voluntary
7 Health Services Plan Act.
8 "Health care professionals" means chiropractic physicians
9 licensed under the Medical Practice Act of 1987, advanced
10 practice nurses licensed under the Nursing and Advanced
11 Practice Nursing Act, and physician assistants licensed under
12 the Physician Assistant Practice Act of 1987.
13 "Person" means an individual, corporation, partnership,
14 firm, organization, or association acting individually or as
15 a group.
16 "Physician" means a physician licensed to practice
17 medicine in all its branches under the Medical Practice Act
18 of 1987.
19 Section 15. Corporate practice of medicine and other
20 health care professions prohibited. No corporation,
21 partnership, or association shall practice medicine or any
22 other health care profession, hold itself out as being
23 entitled to practice those professions, furnish those
24 professional services, advertise under the name of a licensed
25 physician or other health care professional, or solicit
26 through itself or its agents, officers, employees, directors,
27 or trustees on behalf of a licensed physician or other health
28 care professional, except:
29 (1) physicians organized as a corporation, medical
30 corporation, limited liability company, partnership, or
31 association in which all officers, directors, and owners,
32 as well as managers for limited liability companies, are
33 identically licensed physicians;
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1 (2) physicians or other health care professionals
2 employed by a physician or physician group, medical
3 corporation, or a professional service corporation
4 organized under the Professional Service Corporation Act
5 by physicians;
6 (3) health care professionals employed by a
7 professional service corporation organized under the
8 Professional Service Corporation Act by identically
9 licensed health care professionals; or
10 (4) an employing entity pursuant to Section 20 of
11 this Act.
12 Section 20. Conditions for physicians or other health
13 care professionals employment.
14 (a) A hospital licensed under the Hospital Licensing Act
15 or an affiliate of a hospital, ambulatory surgical treatment
16 center, health maintenance organization, or other employing
17 entity may employ licensed physicians and other health care
18 professionals to provide medical and health care services,
19 subject to all of the following conditions:
20 (1) Employing entities shall not restrict or
21 interfere with medically appropriate diagnostic or
22 treatment decisions.
23 (2) Employing entities shall not restrict or
24 interfere with physician referral decisions unless:
25 (A) the physician so employed has agreed in
26 writing to the specific restrictions at the time
27 that the contract is executed;
28 (B) the restriction does not, in the reasonable
29 medical judgment of the physician, adversely affect
30 the health or welfare of the patient; and
31 (C) the employing entity discloses any such
32 restrictions to the patient.
33 (3) Employing entities shall enter into a written,
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1 signed statement acknowledging the physician's or other
2 health care professional's authority to exercise
3 professional judgment in accordance with the appropriate
4 licensing Act. This statement shall, at a minimum,
5 include one of these provisions:
6 (A) For Health Care Professionals: "As the
7 employer of a physician or other health care
8 professional, (employer's name) shall not have or
9 exercise control or direction over the practices,
10 manner, or method that the physician or other health
11 care professional uses in the exercise and execution
12 of his or her professional judgment, skill, and
13 practice, except as such control or direction may be
14 exercised by the medical staff in accordance with
15 bylaws.";
16 (B) For Physicians: "As the employer of a
17 physician, (employer's name) shall impose no
18 restriction on the physician as to methods of
19 diagnosis or treatment or exercise of professional
20 judgment, except for restrictions that may be
21 established by the medical staff in accordance with
22 bylaws. The physician-patient relationship shall be
23 maintained."
24 The signed statement shall be retained by the
25 employer and physician or other health care professional
26 and available to the Department upon request. The
27 Department may prepare a model statement by rule.
28 (4) No employing entity shall adopt or enforce,
29 either formally or informally, any policy, rule,
30 regulation, or practice inconsistent with the provision
31 of adequate collaboration, including medical direction of
32 licensed advanced practice nurses or supervision of
33 licensed physicians assistants and other personnel under
34 Section 54.5 of the Medical Practice Act of 1987.
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1 (5) Employing entities shall have an organized
2 independent physician medical staff relating only to the
3 governing authority of the employing entity. The medical
4 staff shall be organized in accordance with written
5 bylaws, rules, and regulations. These bylaws shall
6 provide minimum due process procedures for all actions
7 granting, reducing, restricting, suspending, revoking,
8 denying, or not renewing medical staff membership and
9 clinic privileges. The governing authority shall not
10 furnish or directly provide medical services, control
11 evaluation of credentials of applicants for medical staff
12 privileges, or exercise professional medical judgment.
13 Further, the entity and the governing authority shall not
14 take any retaliatory or adverse actions against
15 physicians for advocating medically appropriate treatment
16 for patients. Medical staff membership, clinical
17 privileges, and contracts for professional services may
18 not be terminated for carrying out duties as officers of
19 the medical staff. The medical staff shall be
20 responsible directly or through contract for all quality
21 assurance activities and for safeguarding professional
22 autonomy.
23 (b) In the event that there is a dispute relating to
24 subsection (a), the employing entity shall have the burden of
25 proof.
26 Section 25. Restrictions on the practice of medicine.
27 (a) No employing entities or other person shall restrict
28 a physician's right to practice medicine upon the termination
29 or conclusion of any contractual or employment relationship,
30 except an agreement concerning benefits upon retirement.
31 (b) Any employment agreement or medical practice sale
32 agreement affecting the right of a physician to practice:
33 (1) shall allow the physician to buy back his or her
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1 medical practice for the original purchase price of the
2 practice or, in the alternative, if the parties agree in
3 writing, at a price not to exceed the fair market value
4 of the practice at the time of the buy back, at which
5 time any such restriction on practice shall be void; and
6 (2) shall not require that the physician give more
7 than 30 days notice to exercise the repurchase option;
8 however, this provision shall not otherwise affect the
9 contract termination notice requirements.
10 If the buy back provision is dependent upon a
11 determination of the fair market value of the practice, the
12 contract shall specify the method of determining fair market
13 value by independent appraisal in the event that the parties
14 cannot agree as to the fair market value. The contract shall
15 also include the following language:
16 "In the event that the employing entity and the
17 physician cannot agree upon the fair market value of the
18 practice within 10 business days of the physician's
19 notice of intent to repurchase the practice, the
20 physician may remove any contractual provisions affecting
21 his or her practice by tendering to the employing entity
22 the amount that was paid to him or her for the practice.
23 The employing entity or the physician may then seek a
24 determination of the fair market value of the practice by
25 the independent appraisal method specified by contract.".
26 (c) A hospital affiliate that employs physicians shall
27 not engage in any business other than the employment of
28 physicians, the management of physicians and health care
29 facilities, or the ownership of property and facilities used
30 in the provision of health care services. An affiliate of a
31 hospital that employs physicians pursuant to this Act shall
32 be subject to the authority of the Medical Disciplinary
33 Board. Any violation of this Act by an affiliate shall
34 subject any hospital at which the physician has staff
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1 privileges and that controls or is under common control of
2 the affiliate to the penalties and sanctions applied to
3 hospitals that employ physicians.
4 (d) No employing entities or other person shall require,
5 by contract or policy rule or regulation, that as a condition
6 or consequence of employment, written or otherwise, employed
7 physicians or independent contractor physicians relinquish
8 medical staff privileges or the rights related thereto upon
9 the commencement of, upon any event during the pendency of,
10 or at the termination or conclusion of the employment or
11 contractual relationship. In any event, this policy shall
12 not be construed as affecting or negating the ability of an
13 employing entity to revoke or suspend a physician's staff
14 privileges in accordance with the procedures set forth in the
15 medical staff bylaws. Employing entities shall not
16 substitute physician employment contracts for medical staff
17 privileges. Nonemployed and employed physicians holding
18 staff privileges at a hospital which is an employing entity
19 or hospitals that are affiliates of employing entities in
20 which employed physicians hold staff privilege shall enjoy
21 the same privileges, rights, and protections with respect to
22 medical staff membership. Employment of a physician shall
23 not affect any other physician's medical staff privileges.
24 Physicians who hold membership on the medical staff of a
25 hospital which is an employing entity or hospitals that are
26 affiliates of employing entities in which employed physicians
27 hold staff privileges shall be provided with the rights and
28 protections, including rights of self-governance, afforded by
29 the applicable state licensing board and, when accredited,
30 the accrediting entity or agency.
31 Section 30. Hospital-based physicians.
32 (a) As used in this Section, "hospital-based physician"
33 means an anesthesiologist, emergency physician, pathologist,
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1 or radiologist.
2 (b) A hospital or hospital affiliate shall not:
3 (1) require hospital-based physicians to pay for the
4 cost of the use of necessary medical equipment related to
5 the provision of medical services by the hospital-based
6 physicians; or
7 (2) require hospital-based physicians to share in
8 the cost of advertising related to their services or
9 services of the hospital, unless specifically required by
10 contract.
11 (c) The termination of an oral or written contract
12 between a hospital and a hospital-based physician shall not
13 result in loss of medical staff privileges through
14 contractual provisions or hospital policy unless there is a
15 written contract that contains a section separately executed
16 by the parties that provides for the loss of medical staff
17 privileges if the physician is provided with at least 6
18 months written notice of the termination of the contract or
19 if either of the following conditions is met:
20 (1) if the physician provides medical services under
21 the contract to a department of the hospital that has a
22 closed staff and will have a closed staff after
23 termination of the contract; or
24 (2) if the physician provides medical services under
25 the contract to a department of the hospital that has an
26 open staff, but will have a closed staff after
27 termination of the contract. In the case of an emergency
28 physician, the notice of termination may be less than 6
29 months in order to obtain emergency coverage to satisfy
30 requirements of State licensing rules, accreditation, or
31 applicable managed care plans.
32 Section 35. Employing entities; physician and other
33 health care professional employment contracts. All employing
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1 entities shall register with the Department. In addition,
2 all employing entities shall certify compliance with this Act
3 and file a copy of all physician or other health care
4 professional employment contracts and required statements
5 with the Department.
6 Section 40. Advisory opinions. Employing entities,
7 physicians, or other health care professionals may request an
8 advisory opinion from the Medical Disciplinary Board with
9 respect to whether any employment relationship complies with
10 the provisions of this Act. The Board's opinion shall be
11 presumptively correct. Failure to render such an advisory
12 opinion within 90 days of a completed written request
13 pursuant to this Section shall create a rebuttable
14 presumption that the employment relationship described in the
15 completed written request is not or will not be a violation
16 of this Act.
17 Section 45. Duties of the Department. The Department
18 shall, with its boards and committees, implement the
19 provisions of this Act pursuant to rules adopted in
20 accordance with the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act
21 concerning but not limited to:
22 (1) standards and procedures for implementation of
23 this Act;
24 (2) standards and procedures for registering all
25 employing entities; and
26 (3) procedures and criteria for determining when a
27 written request for an advisory opinion is complete.
28 Section 50. Sanctions and penalties.
29 (a) Any employing entity or other person that enters into
30 an employment relationship in violation of any provision of
31 this Act shall be subject to a civil penalty of $20,000 for
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1 each violation and $50,000 for each subsequent or repeat
2 violation.
3 (b) Any violation of this Act by a physician or other
4 health care professional shall constitute grounds for
5 disciplinary action by the applicable board or committee.
6 (c) Notwithstanding the existence or pursuit of any other
7 remedy, the Director may, upon the advice of the Attorney
8 General, who will represent the Director in the proceedings,
9 maintain an action in the name of the State for injunction or
10 other process against any person or entity to restrain or
11 prevent a violation of this Act.
12 Section 55. Private right of action. Any person
13 aggrieved by a violation of this Act or of a rule promulgated
14 hereunder shall have a right of action in the circuit court
15 and may recover for each violation:
16 (1) against any person who negligently violates a
17 provision of this Act or the regulations promulgated
18 hereunder, liquidated damages of $5000 or actual damages,
19 whichever is greater;
20 (2) against any person who intentionally or
21 recklessly violates a provision of this Act or the
22 regulations promulgated hereunder, liquidated damages of
23 $20,000 or actual damages, whichever is greater, and
24 liquidated damages of $50,000 or actual damages,
25 whichever is greater, for subsequent violations;
26 (3) reasonable attorney fees; and
27 (4) such other relief, including an injunction or
28 reinstatement of medical staff membership or clinical
29 privileges, as the court may deem appropriate.
30 Section 90. The Hospital Licensing Act is amended by
31 changing Section 10.2 as follows:
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1 (210 ILCS 85/10.2) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 151.2)
2 Sec. 10.2. Because the candid and conscientious
3 evaluation of clinical practices is essential to the
4 provision of adequate hospital care, it is the policy of this
5 State to encourage peer review by health care providers.
6 Therefore, no hospital and no individual who is a member,
7 agent, or employee of a hospital, hospital medical staff,
8 hospital administrative staff, or hospital governing board
9 shall be liable for civil damages as a result of the acts,
10 omissions, decisions, or any other conduct, except those
11 involving wilful or wanton misconduct, of a medical
12 utilization committee, medical review committee, patient care
13 audit committee, medical care evaluation committee, quality
14 review committee, credential committee, peer review
15 committee, or any other committee whose purpose, directly or
16 indirectly, is internal quality control or medical study to
17 reduce morbidity or mortality, or for improving patient care
18 within a hospital, or the improving or benefiting of patient
19 care and treatment, whether within a hospital or not, or for
20 the purpose of professional discipline. Nothing in this
21 Section shall relieve any individual or hospital from
22 liability arising from treatment of a patient.
23 (Source: P.A. 85-661.)
24 Section 95. The Medical Practice Act of 1987 is amended
25 by changing Section 22 as follows:
26 (225 ILCS 60/22) (from Ch. 111, par. 4400-22)
27 Sec. 22. Disciplinary action.
28 (A) The Department may revoke, suspend, place on
29 probationary status, or take any other disciplinary action as
30 the Department may deem proper with regard to the license or
31 visiting professor permit of any person issued under this Act
32 to practice medicine, or to treat human ailments without the
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1 use of drugs and without operative surgery upon any of the
2 following grounds:
3 (1) Performance of an elective abortion in any
4 place, locale, facility, or institution other than:
5 (a) a facility licensed pursuant to the
6 Ambulatory Surgical Treatment Center Act;
7 (b) an institution licensed under the Hospital
8 Licensing Act; or
9 (c) an ambulatory surgical treatment center or
10 hospitalization or care facility maintained by the
11 State or any agency thereof, where such department
12 or agency has authority under law to establish and
13 enforce standards for the ambulatory surgical
14 treatment centers, hospitalization, or care
15 facilities under its management and control; or
16 (d) ambulatory surgical treatment centers,
17 hospitalization or care facilities maintained by the
18 Federal Government; or
19 (e) ambulatory surgical treatment centers,
20 hospitalization or care facilities maintained by any
21 university or college established under the laws of
22 this State and supported principally by public funds
23 raised by taxation.
24 (2) Performance of an abortion procedure in a
25 wilful and wanton manner on a woman who was not pregnant
26 at the time the abortion procedure was performed.
27 (3) The conviction of a felony in this or any other
28 jurisdiction, except as otherwise provided in subsection
29 B of this Section, whether or not related to practice
30 under this Act, or the entry of a guilty or nolo
31 contendere plea to a felony charge.
32 (4) Gross negligence in practice under this Act.
33 (5) Engaging in dishonorable, unethical or
34 unprofessional conduct of a character likely to deceive,
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1 defraud or harm the public.
2 (6) Obtaining any fee by fraud, deceit, or
3 misrepresentation.
4 (7) Habitual or excessive use or abuse of drugs
5 defined in law as controlled substances, of alcohol, or
6 of any other substances which results in the inability to
7 practice with reasonable judgment, skill or safety.
8 (8) Practicing under a false or, except as provided
9 by law, an assumed name.
10 (9) Fraud or misrepresentation in applying for, or
11 procuring, a license under this Act or in connection with
12 applying for renewal of a license under this Act.
13 (10) Making a false or misleading statement
14 regarding their skill or the efficacy or value of the
15 medicine, treatment, or remedy prescribed by them at
16 their direction in the treatment of any disease or other
17 condition of the body or mind.
18 (11) Allowing another person or organization to use
19 their license, procured under this Act, to practice.
20 (12) Disciplinary action of another state or
21 jurisdiction against a license or other authorization to
22 practice as a medical doctor, doctor of osteopathy,
23 doctor of osteopathic medicine or doctor of chiropractic,
24 a certified copy of the record of the action taken by the
25 other state or jurisdiction being prima facie evidence
26 thereof.
27 (13) Violation of any provision of this Act or of
28 the Medical Practice Act prior to the repeal of that Act,
29 or violation of the rules, or a final administrative
30 action of the Director, after consideration of the
31 recommendation of the Disciplinary Board.
32 (14) Dividing with anyone other than physicians
33 with whom the licensee practices in a partnership,
34 Professional Association, limited liability company, or
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1 Medical or Professional Corporation any fee, commission,
2 rebate or other form of compensation for any professional
3 services not actually and personally rendered. Nothing
4 contained in this subsection prohibits persons holding
5 valid and current licenses under this Act from practicing
6 medicine in partnership under a partnership agreement,
7 including a limited liability partnership, in a limited
8 liability company under the Limited Liability Company
9 Act, in a corporation authorized by the Medical
10 Corporation Act, as an association authorized by the
11 Professional Association Act, or in a corporation under
12 the Professional Corporation Act or from pooling,
13 sharing, dividing or apportioning the fees and monies
14 received by them or by the partnership, corporation or
15 association in accordance with the partnership agreement
16 or the policies of the Board of Directors of the
17 corporation or association. Nothing contained in this
18 subsection prohibits 2 or more corporations authorized by
19 the Medical Corporation Act, from forming a partnership
20 or joint venture of such corporations, and providing
21 medical, surgical and scientific research and knowledge
22 by employees of these corporations if such employees are
23 licensed under this Act, or from pooling, sharing,
24 dividing, or apportioning the fees and monies received by
25 the partnership or joint venture in accordance with the
26 partnership or joint venture agreement. Nothing
27 contained in this subsection shall abrogate the right of
28 2 or more persons, holding valid and current licenses
29 under this Act, to each receive adequate compensation for
30 concurrently rendering professional services to a patient
31 and divide a fee; provided, the patient has full
32 knowledge of the division, and, provided, that the
33 division is made in proportion to the services performed
34 and responsibility assumed by each.
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1 (15) A finding by the Medical Disciplinary Board
2 that the registrant after having his or her license
3 placed on probationary status or subjected to conditions
4 or restrictions violated the terms of the probation or
5 failed to comply with such terms or conditions.
6 (16) Abandonment of a patient.
7 (17) Prescribing, selling, administering,
8 distributing, giving or self-administering any drug
9 classified as a controlled substance (designated product)
10 or narcotic for other than medically accepted therapeutic
11 purposes.
12 (18) Promotion of the sale of drugs, devices,
13 appliances or goods provided for a patient in such manner
14 as to exploit the patient for financial gain of the
15 physician.
16 (19) Offering, undertaking or agreeing to cure or
17 treat disease by a secret method, procedure, treatment or
18 medicine, or the treating, operating or prescribing for
19 any human condition by a method, means or procedure which
20 the licensee refuses to divulge upon demand of the
21 Department.
22 (20) Immoral conduct in the commission of any act
23 including, but not limited to, commission of an act of
24 sexual misconduct related to the licensee's practice.
25 (21) Wilfully making or filing false records or
26 reports in his or her practice as a physician, including,
27 but not limited to, false records to support claims
28 against the medical assistance program of the Department
29 of Public Aid under the Illinois Public Aid Code.
30 (22) Wilful omission to file or record, or wilfully
31 impeding the filing or recording, or inducing another
32 person to omit to file or record, medical reports as
33 required by law, or wilfully failing to report an
34 instance of suspected abuse or neglect as required by
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1 law.
2 (23) Being named as a perpetrator in an indicated
3 report by the Department of Children and Family Services
4 under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, and
5 upon proof by clear and convincing evidence that the
6 licensee has caused a child to be an abused child or
7 neglected child as defined in the Abused and Neglected
8 Child Reporting Act.
9 (24) Solicitation of professional patronage by any
10 corporation, agents or persons, or profiting from those
11 representing themselves to be agents of the licensee.
12 (25) Gross and wilful and continued overcharging
13 for professional services, including filing false
14 statements for collection of fees for which services are
15 not rendered, including, but not limited to, filing such
16 false statements for collection of monies for services
17 not rendered from the medical assistance program of the
18 Department of Public Aid under the Illinois Public Aid
19 Code.
20 (26) A pattern of practice or other behavior which
21 demonstrates incapacity or incompetence to practice under
22 this Act.
23 (27) Mental illness or disability which results in
24 the inability to practice under this Act with reasonable
25 judgment, skill or safety.
26 (28) Physical illness, including, but not limited
27 to, deterioration through the aging process, or loss of
28 motor skill which results in a physician's inability to
29 practice under this Act with reasonable judgment, skill
30 or safety.
31 (29) Cheating on or attempt to subvert the
32 licensing examinations administered under this Act.
33 (30) Wilfully or negligently violating the
34 confidentiality between physician and patient except as
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1 required by law.
2 (31) The use of any false, fraudulent, or deceptive
3 statement in any document connected with practice under
4 this Act.
5 (32) Aiding and abetting an individual not licensed
6 under this Act in the practice of a profession licensed
7 under this Act.
8 (33) Violating state or federal laws or regulations
9 relating to controlled substances.
10 (34) Failure to report to the Department any
11 adverse final action taken against them by another
12 licensing jurisdiction (any other state or any territory
13 of the United States or any foreign state or country), by
14 any peer review body, by any health care institution, by
15 any professional society or association related to
16 practice under this Act, by any governmental agency, by
17 any law enforcement agency, or by any court for acts or
18 conduct similar to acts or conduct which would constitute
19 grounds for action as defined in this Section.
20 (35) Failure to report to the Department surrender
21 of a license or authorization to practice as a medical
22 doctor, a doctor of osteopathy, a doctor of osteopathic
23 medicine, or doctor of chiropractic in another state or
24 jurisdiction, or surrender of membership on any medical
25 staff or in any medical or professional association or
26 society, while under disciplinary investigation by any of
27 those authorities or bodies, for acts or conduct similar
28 to acts or conduct which would constitute grounds for
29 action as defined in this Section.
30 (36) Failure to report to the Department any
31 adverse judgment, settlement, or award arising from a
32 liability claim related to acts or conduct similar to
33 acts or conduct which would constitute grounds for action
34 as defined in this Section.
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1 (37) Failure to transfer copies of medical records
2 as required by law.
3 (38) Failure to furnish the Department, its
4 investigators or representatives, relevant information,
5 legally requested by the Department after consultation
6 with the Chief Medical Coordinator or the Deputy Medical
7 Coordinator.
8 (39) Violating the Health Care Worker Self-Referral
9 Act.
10 (40) Willful failure to provide notice when notice
11 is required under the Parental Notice of Abortion Act of
12 1995.
13 (41) Failure to establish and maintain records of
14 patient care and treatment as required by this law.
15 (42) Entering into an excessive number of written
16 collaborative agreements with licensed advanced practice
17 nurses resulting in an inability to adequately
18 collaborate and provide medical direction.
19 (43) Repeated failure to adequately collaborate
20 with or provide medical direction to a licensed advanced
21 practice nurse.
22 (44) Violating the Corporate Practice of Medicine
23 and Health Care Services Act.
24 All proceedings to suspend, revoke, place on probationary
25 status, or take any other disciplinary action as the
26 Department may deem proper, with regard to a license on any
27 of the foregoing grounds, must be commenced within 3 years
28 next after receipt by the Department of a complaint alleging
29 the commission of or notice of the conviction order for any
30 of the acts described herein. Except for the grounds
31 numbered (8), (9) and (29), no action shall be commenced more
32 than 5 years after the date of the incident or act alleged to
33 have violated this Section. In the event of the settlement
34 of any claim or cause of action in favor of the claimant or
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1 the reduction to final judgment of any civil action in favor
2 of the plaintiff, such claim, cause of action or civil action
3 being grounded on the allegation that a person licensed under
4 this Act was negligent in providing care, the Department
5 shall have an additional period of one year from the date of
6 notification to the Department under Section 23 of this Act
7 of such settlement or final judgment in which to investigate
8 and commence formal disciplinary proceedings under Section 36
9 of this Act, except as otherwise provided by law. The time
10 during which the holder of the license was outside the State
11 of Illinois shall not be included within any period of time
12 limiting the commencement of disciplinary action by the
13 Department.
14 The entry of an order or judgment by any circuit court
15 establishing that any person holding a license under this Act
16 is a person in need of mental treatment operates as a
17 suspension of that license. That person may resume their
18 practice only upon the entry of a Departmental order based
19 upon a finding by the Medical Disciplinary Board that they
20 have been determined to be recovered from mental illness by
21 the court and upon the Disciplinary Board's recommendation
22 that they be permitted to resume their practice.
23 The Department may refuse to issue or take disciplinary
24 action concerning the license of any person who fails to file
25 a return, or to pay the tax, penalty or interest shown in a
26 filed return, or to pay any final assessment of tax, penalty
27 or interest, as required by any tax Act administered by the
28 Illinois Department of Revenue, until such time as the
29 requirements of any such tax Act are satisfied as determined
30 by the Illinois Department of Revenue.
31 The Department, upon the recommendation of the
32 Disciplinary Board, shall adopt rules which set forth
33 standards to be used in determining:
34 (a) when a person will be deemed sufficiently
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1 rehabilitated to warrant the public trust;
2 (b) what constitutes dishonorable, unethical or
3 unprofessional conduct of a character likely to deceive,
4 defraud, or harm the public;
5 (c) what constitutes immoral conduct in the
6 commission of any act, including, but not limited to,
7 commission of an act of sexual misconduct related to the
8 licensee's practice; and
9 (d) what constitutes gross negligence in the
10 practice of medicine.
11 However, no such rule shall be admissible into evidence
12 in any civil action except for review of a licensing or other
13 disciplinary action under this Act.
14 In enforcing this Section, the Medical Disciplinary
15 Board, upon a showing of a possible violation, may compel any
16 individual licensed to practice under this Act, or who has
17 applied for licensure or a permit pursuant to this Act, to
18 submit to a mental or physical examination, or both, as
19 required by and at the expense of the Department. The
20 examining physician or physicians shall be those specifically
21 designated by the Disciplinary Board. The Medical
22 Disciplinary Board or the Department may order the examining
23 physician to present testimony concerning this mental or
24 physical examination of the licensee or applicant. No
25 information shall be excluded by reason of any common law or
26 statutory privilege relating to communication between the
27 licensee or applicant and the examining physician. The
28 individual to be examined may have, at his or her own
29 expense, another physician of his or her choice present
30 during all aspects of the examination. Failure of any
31 individual to submit to mental or physical examination, when
32 directed, shall be grounds for suspension of his or her
33 license until such time as the individual submits to the
34 examination if the Disciplinary Board finds, after notice and
-21- LRB9101910ACtmA
1 hearing, that the refusal to submit to the examination was
2 without reasonable cause. If the Disciplinary Board finds a
3 physician unable to practice because of the reasons set forth
4 in this Section, the Disciplinary Board shall require such
5 physician to submit to care, counseling, or treatment by
6 physicians approved or designated by the Disciplinary Board,
7 as a condition for continued, reinstated, or renewed
8 licensure to practice. Any physician, whose license was
9 granted pursuant to Sections 9, 17, or 19 of this Act, or,
10 continued, reinstated, renewed, disciplined or supervised,
11 subject to such terms, conditions or restrictions who shall
12 fail to comply with such terms, conditions or restrictions,
13 or to complete a required program of care, counseling, or
14 treatment, as determined by the Chief Medical Coordinator or
15 Deputy Medical Coordinators, shall be referred to the
16 Director for a determination as to whether the licensee shall
17 have their license suspended immediately, pending a hearing
18 by the Disciplinary Board. In instances in which the
19 Director immediately suspends a license under this Section, a
20 hearing upon such person's license must be convened by the
21 Disciplinary Board within 15 days after such suspension and
22 completed without appreciable delay. The Disciplinary Board
23 shall have the authority to review the subject physician's
24 record of treatment and counseling regarding the impairment,
25 to the extent permitted by applicable federal statutes and
26 regulations safeguarding the confidentiality of medical
27 records.
28 An individual licensed under this Act, affected under
29 this Section, shall be afforded an opportunity to demonstrate
30 to the Disciplinary Board that they can resume practice in
31 compliance with acceptable and prevailing standards under the
32 provisions of their license.
33 The Department may promulgate rules for the imposition of
34 fines in disciplinary cases, not to exceed $5,000 for each
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1 violation of this Act. Fines may be imposed in conjunction
2 with other forms of disciplinary action, but shall not be the
3 exclusive disposition of any disciplinary action arising out
4 of conduct resulting in death or injury to a patient. Any
5 funds collected from such fines shall be deposited in the
6 Medical Disciplinary Fund.
7 (B) The Department shall revoke the license or visiting
8 permit of any person issued under this Act to practice
9 medicine or to treat human ailments without the use of drugs
10 and without operative surgery, who has been convicted a
11 second time of committing any felony under the Illinois
12 Controlled Substances Act, or who has been convicted a second
13 time of committing a Class 1 felony under Sections 8A-3 and
14 8A-6 of the Illinois Public Aid Code. A person whose license
15 or visiting permit is revoked under this subsection B of
16 Section 22 of this Act shall be prohibited from practicing
17 medicine or treating human ailments without the use of drugs
18 and without operative surgery.
19 (C) The Medical Disciplinary Board shall recommend to
20 the Department civil penalties and any other appropriate
21 discipline in disciplinary cases when the Board finds that a
22 physician willfully performed an abortion with actual
23 knowledge that the person upon whom the abortion has been
24 performed is a minor or an incompetent person without notice
25 as required under the Parental Notice of Abortion Act of
26 1995. Upon the Board's recommendation, the Department shall
27 impose, for the first violation, a civil penalty of $1,000
28 and for a second or subsequent violation, a civil penalty of
29 $5,000.
30 (Source: P.A. 89-18, eff. 6-1-95; 89-201, eff. 1-1-96;
31 89-626, eff. 8-9-96; 89-702, eff. 7-1-97; 90-742, eff.
32 8-13-98.)
33 Section 100. The Nursing and Advanced Practice Nursing
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1 Act is amended by changing Section 15-50 as follows:
2 (225 ILCS 65/15-50)
3 Sec. 15-50. Grounds for disciplinary action.
4 (a) The Department may, upon the recommendation of the
5 APN Board, refuse to issue or to renew, or may revoke,
6 suspend, place on probation, censure or reprimand, or take
7 other disciplinary action as the Department may deem
8 appropriate with regard to a license issued under this Title,
9 including the issuance of fines not to exceed $5,000 for each
10 violation, for any one or combination of the grounds for
11 discipline set forth in Section 10-45 of this Act or for any
12 one or combination of the following causes:
13 (1) Gross negligence in the practice of advanced
14 practice nursing.
15 (2) Exceeding the terms of a collaborative
16 agreement or the prescriptive authority delegated to him
17 or her by his or her collaborating physician or alternate
18 collaborating physician in guidelines established under a
19 written collaborative agreement.
20 (3) Making a false or misleading statement
21 regarding his or her skill or the efficacy or value of
22 the medicine, treatment, or remedy prescribed by him or
23 her in the course of treatment.
24 (4) Prescribing, selling, administering,
25 distributing, giving, or self-administering a drug
26 classified as a controlled substance (designated product)
27 or narcotic for other than medically accepted therapeutic
28 purposes.
29 (5) Promotion of the sale of drugs, devices,
30 appliances, or goods provided for a patient in a manner
31 to exploit the patient for financial gain.
32 (6) Violating State or federal laws or regulations
33 relating to controlled substances.
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1 (7) Willfully or negligently violating the
2 confidentiality between advanced practice nurse,
3 collaborating physician, and patient, except as required
4 by law.
5 (8) Failure of a licensee to report to the
6 Department any adverse final action taken against such
7 licensee by another licensing jurisdiction (any other
8 jurisdiction of the United States or any foreign state or
9 country), any peer review body, any health care
10 institution, a professional or nursing or advanced
11 practice nursing society or association, a governmental
12 agency, a law enforcement agency, or a court or a
13 liability claim relating to acts or conduct similar to
14 acts or conduct that would constitute grounds for action
15 as defined in this Section.
16 (9) Failure of a licensee to report to the
17 Department surrender by the licensee of a license or
18 authorization to practice nursing or advanced practice
19 nursing in another state or jurisdiction, or current
20 surrender by the licensee of membership on any nursing
21 staff or organized health care professional staff or in
22 any nursing, advanced practice nurse, or professional
23 association or society while under disciplinary
24 investigation by any of those authorities or bodies for
25 acts or conduct similar to acts or conduct that would
26 constitute grounds for action as defined in this Section.
27 (10) Failing, within 60 days, to provide
28 information in response to a written request made by the
29 Department.
30 (11) Failure to establish and maintain records of
31 patient care and treatment as required by law.
32 (12) Any violation of any Section of this Title or
33 Act.
34 (13) Violating the Corporate Practice of Medicine
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1 and Health Care Services Act.
2 When the Department has received written reports
3 concerning incidents required to be reported in items (8) and
4 (9), the licensee's failure to report the incident to the
5 Department under those items shall not be the sole grounds
6 for disciplinary action.
7 (b) The Department may refuse to issue or may suspend
8 the license of any person who fails to file a return, to pay
9 the tax, penalty, or interest shown in a filed return, or to
10 pay any final assessment of the tax, penalty, or interest as
11 required by a tax Act administered by the Department of
12 Revenue, until the requirements of the tax Act are satisfied.
13 (c) In enforcing this Section, the Department or APN
14 Board, upon a showing of a possible violation, may compel an
15 individual licensed to practice under this Title, or who has
16 applied for licensure under this Title, to submit to a mental
17 or physical examination or both, as required by and at the
18 expense of the Department. The Department or APN Board may
19 order the examining physician to present testimony concerning
20 the mental or physical examination of the licensee or
21 applicant. No information shall be excluded by reason of any
22 common law or statutory privilege relating to communications
23 between the licensee or applicant and the examining
24 physician. The examining physician shall be specifically
25 designated by the APN Board or Department. The individual to
26 be examined may have, at his or her own expense, another
27 physician of his or her choice present during all aspects of
28 this examination. Failure of an individual to submit to a
29 mental or physical examination when directed shall be grounds
30 for suspension of his or her license until the individual
31 submits to the examination if the Department finds, after
32 notice and hearing, that the refusal to submit to the
33 examination was without reasonable cause.
34 If the Department or APN Board finds an individual unable
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1 to practice because of the reasons set forth in this Section,
2 the Department or APN Board may require that individual to
3 submit to care, counseling, or treatment by physicians
4 approved or designated by the Department or APN Board as a
5 condition, term, or restriction for continued, reinstated, or
6 renewed licensure to practice; or, in lieu of care,
7 counseling, or treatment, the Department may file, or the APN
8 Board may recommend to the Department to file, a complaint to
9 immediately suspend, revoke, or otherwise discipline the
10 license of the individual. An individual whose license was
11 granted, continued, reinstated, renewed, disciplined or
12 supervised subject to terms, conditions, or restrictions, and
13 who fails to comply with the terms, conditions, or
14 restrictions, shall be referred to the Director for a
15 determination as to whether the individual shall have his or
16 her license suspended immediately, pending a hearing by the
17 Department.
18 In instances in which the Director immediately suspends a
19 person's license under this Section, a hearing on that
20 person's license shall be convened by the Department within
21 15 days after the suspension and shall be completed without
22 appreciable delay. The Department and APN Board shall have
23 the authority to review the subject individual's record of
24 treatment and counseling regarding the impairment to the
25 extent permitted by applicable federal statutes and
26 regulations safeguarding the confidentiality of medical
27 records.
28 An individual licensed under this Title and affected
29 under this Section shall be afforded an opportunity to
30 demonstrate to the Department or APN Board that he or she can
31 resume practice in compliance with acceptable and prevailing
32 standards under the provisions of his or her license.
33 (Source: P.A. 90-742, eff. 8-13-98.)
-27- LRB9101910ACtmA
1 Section 105. The Physician Assistant Practice Act of
2 1987 is amended by changing Section 21 as follows:
3 (225 ILCS 95/21) (from Ch. 111, par. 4621)
4 Sec. 21. Grounds for disciplinary action.
5 (a) The Department may refuse to issue or to renew, or
6 may revoke, suspend, place on probation, censure or
7 reprimand, or take other disciplinary action with regard to
8 any license issued under this Act as the Department may deem
9 proper, including the issuance of fines not to exceed $5000
10 for each violation, for any one or combination of the
11 following causes:
12 (1) Material misstatement in furnishing information
13 to the Department.
14 (2) Violations of this Act, or the rules adopted
15 under this Act.
16 (3) Conviction of any crime under the laws of any
17 U.S. jurisdiction that is a felony or that is a
18 misdemeanor, an essential element of which is dishonesty,
19 or of any crime which is directly related to the practice
20 of the profession.
21 (4) Making any misrepresentation for the purpose of
22 obtaining licenses.
23 (5) Professional incompetence.
24 (6) Aiding or assisting another person in violating
25 any provision of this Act or its rules.
26 (7) Failing, within 60 days, to provide information
27 in response to a written request made by the Department.
28 (8) Engaging in dishonorable, unethical, or
29 unprofessional conduct, as defined by rule, of a
30 character likely to deceive, defraud, or harm the public.
31 (9) Habitual or excessive use or addiction to
32 alcohol, narcotics, stimulants, or any other chemical
33 agent or drug that results in a physician assistant's
-28- LRB9101910ACtmA
1 inability to practice with reasonable judgment, skill, or
2 safety.
3 (10) Discipline by another U.S. jurisdiction or
4 foreign nation, if at least one of the grounds for
5 discipline is the same or substantially equivalent to
6 those set forth in this Section.
7 (11) Directly or indirectly giving to or receiving
8 from any person, firm, corporation, partnership, or
9 association any fee, commission, rebate or other form of
10 compensation for any professional services not actually
11 or personally rendered.
12 (12) A finding by the Disciplinary Board that the
13 licensee, after having his or her license placed on
14 probationary status has violated the terms of probation.
15 (13) Abandonment of a patient.
16 (14) Willfully making or filing false records or
17 reports in his or her practice, including but not limited
18 to false records filed with state agencies or
19 departments.
20 (15) Willfully failing to report an instance of
21 suspected child abuse or neglect as required by the
22 Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act.
23 (16) Physical illness, including but not limited to
24 deterioration through the aging process, or loss of motor
25 skill, mental illness, or disability that results in the
26 inability to practice the profession with reasonable
27 judgment, skill or safety.
28 (17) Being named as a perpetrator in an indicated
29 report by the Department of Children and Family Services
30 under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, and
31 upon proof by clear and convincing evidence that the
32 licensee has caused a child to be an abused child or
33 neglected child as defined in the Abused and Neglected
34 Child Reporting Act.
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1 (18) Conviction in this State or another state of
2 any crime that is a felony under the laws of this State,
3 or conviction of a felony in a federal court.
4 (19) Gross malpractice resulting in permanent
5 injury or death of a patient.
6 (20) Employment of fraud, deception or any unlawful
7 means in applying for or securing a license as a
8 physician assistant.
9 (21) Exceeding the authority delegated to him or
10 her by his or her supervising physician in guidelines
11 established by the physician/physician assistant team.
12 (22) Immoral conduct in the commission of any act,
13 such as sexual abuse, sexual misconduct or sexual
14 exploitation related to the licensee's practice.
15 (23) Violation of the Health Care Worker
16 Self-Referral Act.
17 (24) Practicing under a false or assumed name,
18 except as provided by law.
19 (25) Making a false or misleading statement
20 regarding his or her skill or the efficacy or value of
21 the medicine, treatment, or remedy prescribed by him or
22 her in the course of treatment.
23 (26) Allowing another person to use his or her
24 license to practice.
25 (27) Prescribing, selling, administering,
26 distributing, giving, or self-administering a drug
27 classified as a controlled substance (designated product)
28 or narcotic for other than medically-accepted therapeutic
29 purposes.
30 (28) Promotion of the sale of drugs, devices,
31 appliances, or goods provided for a patient in a manner
32 to exploit the patient for financial gain.
33 (29) A pattern of practice or other behavior that
34 demonstrates incapacity or incompetence to practice under
-30- LRB9101910ACtmA
1 this Act.
2 (30) Violating State or federal laws or regulations
3 relating to controlled substances.
4 (31) Exceeding the limited prescriptive authority
5 delegated by the supervising physician or violating the
6 written guidelines delegating that authority.
7 (32) Practicing without providing to the Department
8 a notice of supervision or delegation of prescriptive
9 authority.
10 (33) Violating the Corporate Practice of Medicine
11 and Health Care Services Act.
12 (b) The Department may refuse to issue or may suspend
13 the license of any person who fails to file a return, or to
14 pay the tax, penalty or interest shown in a filed return, or
15 to pay any final assessment of the tax, penalty, or interest
16 as required by any tax Act administered by the Illinois
17 Department of Revenue, until such time as the requirements of
18 any such tax Act are satisfied.
19 (c) The determination by a circuit court that a licensee
20 is subject to involuntary admission or judicial admission as
21 provided in the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities
22 Code operates as an automatic suspension. The suspension will
23 end only upon a finding by a court that the patient is no
24 longer subject to involuntary admission or judicial admission
25 and issues an order so finding and discharging the patient,
26 and upon the recommendation of the Disciplinary Board to the
27 Director that the licensee be allowed to resume his or her
28 practice.
29 (d) In enforcing this Section, the Department upon a
30 showing of a possible violation may compel an individual
31 licensed to practice under this Act, or who has applied for
32 licensure under this Act, to submit to a mental or physical
33 examination, or both, as required by and at the expense of
34 the Department. The Department may order the examining
-31- LRB9101910ACtmA
1 physician to present testimony concerning the mental or
2 physical examination of the licensee or applicant. No
3 information shall be excluded by reason of any common law or
4 statutory privilege relating to communications between the
5 licensee or applicant and the examining physician. The
6 examining physicians shall be specifically designated by the
7 Department. The individual to be examined may have, at his or
8 her own expense, another physician of his or her choice
9 present during all aspects of this examination. Failure of
10 an individual to submit to a mental or physical examination,
11 when directed, shall be grounds for suspension of his or her
12 license until the individual submits to the examination if
13 the Department finds, after notice and hearing, that the
14 refusal to submit to the examination was without reasonable
15 cause.
16 If the Department finds an individual unable to practice
17 because of the reasons set forth in this Section, the
18 Department may require that individual to submit to care,
19 counseling, or treatment by physicians approved or designated
20 by the Department, as a condition, term, or restriction for
21 continued, reinstated, or renewed licensure to practice; or,
22 in lieu of care, counseling, or treatment, the Department may
23 file a complaint to immediately suspend, revoke, or otherwise
24 discipline the license of the individual. An individual whose
25 license was granted, continued, reinstated, renewed,
26 disciplined, or supervised subject to such terms, conditions,
27 or restrictions, and who fails to comply with such terms,
28 conditions, or restrictions, shall be referred to the
29 Director for a determination as to whether the individual
30 shall have his or her license suspended immediately, pending
31 a hearing by the Department.
32 In instances in which the Director immediately suspends a
33 person's license under this Section, a hearing on that
34 person's license must be convened by the Department within 15
-32- LRB9101910ACtmA
1 days after the suspension and completed without appreciable
2 delay. The Department shall have the authority to review the
3 subject individual's record of treatment and counseling
4 regarding the impairment to the extent permitted by
5 applicable federal statutes and regulations safeguarding the
6 confidentiality of medical records.
7 An individual licensed under this Act and affected under
8 this Section shall be afforded an opportunity to demonstrate
9 to the Department that he or she can resume practice in
10 compliance with acceptable and prevailing standards under the
11 provisions of his or her license.
12 (Source: P.A. 90-61, eff. 12-30-97; 90-116, eff. 7-14-97;
13 90-655, eff. 7-30-98.)
14 Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
15 becoming law.
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