Bill Text: NY S01796 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Grants immunity from liability to organizations which establish physician committees the purpose of which is to confront and refer to treatment physicians who are thought to be suffering from addiction or mental illness.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO HEALTH [S01796 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S01796-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         1796--A
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    January 16, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  RIVERA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed  to  the  Committee  on  Health  --  committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to said committee
        AN  ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to granting immunity
          from liability to organizations which establish physician committees
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  Paragraph  (g)  of  subdivision  11 of section 230 of the
     2  public health law, as added by chapter 426 of the laws of 1983, subpara-
     3  graphs (ii) and (iii) as amended by chapter 606 of  the  laws  of  1991,
     4  subparagraphs  (v) and (vi) as added by chapter 582 of the laws of 1984,
     5  is amended to read as follows:
     6    (g) (i) Any physician committee of the Medical Society of the State of
     7  New York, the New York State Osteopathic Society  or  a  county  medical
     8  society referred to in subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (c) of this subdi-
     9  vision  shall  develop procedures in consultation with, and approved by,
    10  the commissioner [of the department of health], including but not limit-
    11  ed to the following:
    12    [(i)] (A) The committee shall disclose at  least  once  a  month  such
    13  information  as  the  director  of  the  office  of professional medical
    14  conduct may deem appropriate regarding  reports  received,  contacts  or
    15  investigations made and the disposition of each report, provided however
    16  that the committee shall not disclose any personally identifiable infor-
    17  mation except as provided in [subparagraph (ii)] clause (B) or [subpara-
    18  graph (iii)] (C) of this [paragraph] subparagraph.
    19    [(ii)]  (B) The committee shall immediately report to the director the
    20  name, all information obtained and the results of any contact or  inves-
    21  tigation  regarding  any  physician  who  is  believed to be an imminent
    22  danger to the public.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03386-03-9
        S. 1796--A                          2
     1    [(iii)] (C) The committee shall report to the  director  in  a  timely
     2  fashion  all information obtained regarding any physician who refuses to
     3  cooperate with the committee, refuses to submit to treatment,  or  whose
     4  impairment is not substantially alleviated through treatment.
     5    [(iv)]  (D)  The  committee shall inform each physician who is partic-
     6  ipating in a program of the procedures followed in the program,  of  the
     7  rights  and  responsibilities of the physician in the program and of the
     8  possible results of noncompliance with the program.
     9    [(v)] (ii) No member of any such committee; nor the Medical Society of
    10  the State of New York, the New York State Osteopathic Society or a coun-
    11  ty medical society referred to in subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (c)  of
    12  this  subdivision  that establishes a committee; nor any agent, servant,
    13  representative or employee that provides service to any  such  committee
    14  or  society,  shall  be  liable for damages to any person for any action
    15  taken by such committee, society, member, agent, servant, representative
    16  or employee provided that such action was taken without malice and with-
    17  in the scope of such [member's] individual's or entity's function [as  a
    18  member of] in relation to such committee.
    19    [(vi)]  (iii)  The  committee, in conjunction with the director of the
    20  office  of  professional  medical  conduct,  shall  develop  appropriate
    21  consent  forms  and disclosure proceedings as may be necessary under any
    22  federal statute, rule or regulation in order to permit the disclosure of
    23  the information as may be required under  [subparagraphs  (ii)]  clauses
    24  (B) and [(iii)] (C) of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph.
    25    (iv) Except as [herein] provided in this paragraph and notwithstanding
    26  any  other  provision of law, neither the proceedings nor the records of
    27  any such physician committee shall be subject to disclosure under  arti-
    28  cle  thirty-one of the civil practice law and rules nor shall any member
    29  of any such committee nor any person in attendance at any  such  meeting
    30  be required to testify as to what transpired thereat.
    31    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, that the amend-
    32  ments  to  paragraph  (g) of subdivision 11 of section 230 of the public
    33  health law, made by section one of this act, shall not affect the repeal
    34  of such paragraph, and shall be deemed repealed therewith; and provided,
    35  further, that the amendments to subparagraphs (v) and (vi) of  paragraph
    36  (g)  of  subdivision 11 of section 230 of the public health law, made by
    37  section one of this act, shall not affect the repeal  of  such  subpara-
    38  graphs, and shall be deemed repealed therewith.