22 Tex. Admin. Code § 277.14 - Complaints Resulting From Glaucoma Treatment - Use of Case Review Consultant and Expert Panel
(a) Composition.
Upon a determination under § 277.13 of this title (relating to Complaints
Resulting From Glaucoma Treatment - Investigation Process) by the Case Review
Consultant that a Respondent has violated the standard of care for the
treatment of glaucoma, the Texas Optometry Board shall forward the complaint
and report to an Expert Panel appointed by the Texas Optometry Board and the
Texas Medical Board. The panel shall be composed of an equal number of
physicians who specialize in ophthalmology and therapeutic optometrists.
Ophthalmologists shall be selected from a list approved by the Texas Medical
Board for such purposes and the therapeutic optometrists certified as
Optometric Glaucoma Specialists shall be selected from a list approved by the
Texas Optometry Board.
(b)
Qualifications. To be eligible to serve as a Case Review Consultant or as a
member of the Expert Panel, interest shall be submitted to the Texas Optometry
Board and Texas Medical Board through an application. The Texas Optometry Board
and Texas Medical Board will collaborate to approve Case Review Consultants and
Expert Panel Members. An applicant may be considered if they meet the following
criteria:
(1) Is a Texas-licensed therapeutic
optometrist certified as an Optometric Glaucoma Specialist or a Texas-licensed
physician specializing in ophthalmology who has been in active practice in
Texas for at least the last five (5) consecutive years immediately preceding
the application;
(2) Has had no
disciplinary action taken by any healthcare regulatory board in Texas or in
another state within the last 10 years;
(3) Is not a member of the faculty or board
of trustees of an optometry school or an institution of higher education with
an affiliated school of optometry; or
(4) Is not an officer, employee, or paid
consultant of a Texas trade association, or married to a spouse who is an
officer, employee, or paid consultant of a Texas trade association, as defined
by §351.053 of the Optometry Act, in the field of health care.
(c) Payment. Approved Case Review
Consultants and Expert Panel Members shall enter a contract for services with
the Texas Optometry Board. The Texas Optometry Board shall pay a reasonable,
contracted fee to each Case Review Consultant and Expert Panel
member.
(d) Term; Resignation;
Removal. A Case Review Consultant or Expert Panel member shall serve until
resignation, removal, or non-renewal of contract. A Case Review Consultant or
Expert Panel member may resign at any time with at least five (5) business
days' advance notice to the Board and, if necessary, the Texas Medical Board. A
Case Review Consultant or Expert Panel member may be removed for good cause at
any time, with the approval of the Texas Optometry Board and the Texas Medical
Board. Good cause for removal may include without limitation:
(1) Failure to maintain eligibility
requirements;
(2) Failure to inform
the Board of known potential or apparent conflicts of interest;
(3) Repeated failure to timely review
complaints or timely submit reports to the Board;
(4) Sharing of confidential information
regarding complaints; or
(5) Direct
contact with the Complainant, Respondent and/or other health care providers
identified in the complaint.
(e) Vacancy on Expert Panel. A vacancy of the
therapeutic optometrist serving on the Expert Panel shall be filled by
selecting another qualified individual from the list approved by the Texas
Optometry Board, and a vacancy of an ophthalmologist serving on the Expert
Panel shall be filled by selecting another individual from the list approved by
the Texas Medical Board.
(f)
Conflict of Interest. If a Case Review Consultant or Expert Panel member has a
known personal or professional interest that might reasonably tend to influence
the discharge of the individual's duties in the review of case, the Case Review
Consultant or Expert Panel member shall disclose that conflict immediately to
the Executive Director for assignment to a different Case Review Consultant or
Expert Panel member.
(1) A potential
professional conflict of interest exists if the reviewer lives or practices
optometry and/or ophthalmology in the same geographical market as the
Respondent in the filed complaint and is in direct competition with the
licensee.
(2) A potential personal
conflict of interest exists if the reviewer has a personal relationship with
the Respondent and/or complainant. A personal relationship is considered to be
a situation in which the Case Review Consultant or Expert Panel member has
personal interests such as financial interests, family or social factors that
could impair one's ability to act impartially.
(g) Expert Panel Review of Case. The Expert
Panel members will be provided with the Case Review Consultant's report and all
relevant information related to the complaint, including records collected by
the agency during the investigation. The Expert Panel members shall submit to
the Texas Optometry Board a written report (or separate reports in the event
the members of the panel do not have consensus) which includes whether the
therapeutic optometrist should be subject to disciplinary action and, if so,
whether the disciplinary action should include suspension or revocation of the
therapeutic optometrist's license or certificate issued under §351.3581(a)
of the Optometry Act.
Upon receipt of an Expert Panel Report, the Board shall evaluate the report, complaint, and any other relevant information and shall comply with § 277.2 of this title (relating to Disciplinary Proceedings) as necessary. The Expert Panel recommendations are not binding but the Board may give deference to the Panel's findings when making a final determination for disciplinary action.
Notes
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