Section 1.02 - General Provisions(1)Communications. All written correspondence should be addressed to and filed with the Board of Registration in Medicine, 200 Harvard Mills Square, Suite 330, Wakefield, MA 01880.(2)(a)Service. The Board shall provide notice of its actions in accordance with the Standard Adjudicatory Rules, 801 CMR 1.01(4)(b) and (5)(f), or otherwise with reasonable attempts at in-hand service, unless the Respondent otherwise has actual notice of the Board's action. Where 243 CMR 1.00 provides that the Board must notify parties, service may be made by first class mail. A notice of appearance on behalf of a Respondent shall be deemed an agreement to accept service of any document on behalf of the Respondent, including a Final Decision and Order of the Board. When a Hearing Officer has jurisdiction over an adjudicatory proceeding, proper service by the Respondent includes filing copies of all papers and exhibits with: 1. the Board, care of its General Counsel;2. the Hearing Officer assigned to the adjudicatory proceeding; and3. the Associate Prosecutor assigned to the adjudicatory proceeding. All papers served must be accompanied by a certificate of service.(b)Notice to Board Members. A Respondent (or his or her representative) and other persons shall not engage in ex parte communications with individual Board members regarding a disciplinary proceeding. Communications to Board members regarding disciplinary proceedings shall be in writing and directed to Board members as follows: Eight copies to the Executive Director, one copy to the General Counsel, and one copy to the Chief of the Disciplinary Unit.(3)Date of Receipt. Communications are deemed received on the date of actual receipt by the Board.(4)Computation of Time. The Board shall compute time in accordance with 801 CMR 1.01(4)(c): Notice of Agency Actions.(5)Extension of Time. The Board in its discretion may extend any time limit prescribed or allowed by 243 CMR 1.00.(6)Identification and Signature; Paper Size. All papers filed with the Board in the course of a disciplinary proceeding must contain the name, address, and telephone number of the party making the filing and must be signed by either the party or an authorized representative. Paper size shall be 8½" by 11".(7)Decisions by the Board; Quorum. Unless 243 CMR 1.00 provides otherwise, a majority of members present and voting at a Board meeting shall make all decisions and the Board shall record its decisions in the minutes of its meetings. A quorum is a majority of the Board, excluding vacancies.(8)Availability of Board Records to the Public.(a) The availability of the Board's records to the public is governed by the provisions of the Public Records Law, M.G.L. c. 66, § 10, and M.G.L. c. 4, § 7, clause 26, as limited by the confidentiality provisions of M.G.L. c. 112, §§ 5 through 5I and 243 CMR. A file or some portion of it is not a public record if the Board determines that disclosure may constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, prejudice the effectiveness of law enforcement efforts (if the records were necessarily compiled out of public view), violate any provision of state or federal law, or if the records are otherwise legally exempt from disclosure.(b) Before the Board issues a Statement of Allegations, dismisses a complaint, or takes other final action, the Board's records concerning a disciplinary matter are confidential.(c) The Board's records of disciplinary matters, as limited by 243 CMR 1.02(8)(a) and (b), include the following: 1. Closed complaint files, which contain the complaint and other information in matters which have been dismissed or otherwise resolved without adjudication, are public records. The name or a complainant or patient and relevant medical records shall be disclosed to the Respondent, but this information is otherwise confidential. The names of reviewers and the contents of complaint reviews shall be confidential.2. Disciplinary Unit files, which contain portions of complaint files (and related confidential files) as well as papers related to adjudicatory proceedings and attorney work product, are not public records and are confidential.3. The Board's files, which contain each paper filed with the Board in connection with an adjudicatory proceeding, are public records, unless otherwise impounded or placed under seal by the Hearing Officer or the Board.4. Peer review information and records shall remain confidential, to the extent allowable under M.G.L. c. 111, § 204 and 243 CMR 3.04: Confidentiality of Records and Information, unless introduced into evidence in an adjudicatory proceeding.5. Records of any Board unit's review and investigation of statutory reports, consistent with 243 CMR 1.03(14); are not public records and are confidential.6. Closed anonymous complaints, which are determined to be frivolous or lacking in either legal merit or factual basis, consistent with 243 CMR 1.03(3)(a); are not public records and are confidential.(d) Communications or complaints reviewed by the Complaint Committee prior to August 21, 1987 and not docketed for reasons other than the criteria set forth in 243 CMR 1.03(3)(a), shall be made available to the public as if they were closed complaint files under 243 CMR 1.02(8)(c)1., whether or not such documents were previously considered to be confidential Board records, unless release is otherwise limited by law or regulations.(9)Public Nature of Board Meetings Under 243 CMR 1.00. (a) All meetings of the Board are open to the public to the extent required by M.G.L. c. 30A, § 20.(b) As provided by M.G.L. c. 30A, § 20, a Board meeting held for the purpose of making a decision required in an adjudicatory proceeding is not open to the public. Evidentiary hearings before individual hearing officers are generally open to the public, but the Board may carry out its functions under 243 CMR 1.00 in closed session if these functions effect an individual licensee or patient, the licensee or patient requests that the Board function in closed session, and the Board or hearing officer determines that functioning in closed session would be consistent with law and in the public interest.(10)Conditional Privilege of Communications with the Board. All communications with the Board charging misconduct, or reporting or providing information to the Board pursuant to M.G.L. c. 112, §§ 5 through 5I, or assisting the Board in any manner in discharging its duties and functions, are privileged, and a person making a communication is privileged from liability based upon the communication unless the person makes the communication in bad faith or for a malicious reason. This limitation on liability is established by M.G.L. c. 112, §§ 5 and 5G(b).(11)State or Federal Agencies, Boards or Institutions Designated to Receive Investigative Records or Confidential Information. Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 112, § 5, the Board will review written requests for investigative records or other confidential information from the following agencies which are hereby designated to receive, upon Board approval, such information consistent with the Fair Information Practices Act (FIPA), M.G.L. c. 66A: (a) Massachusetts Department of the Attorney General;(b) Offices of the Massachusetts District Attorneys;(c) Massachusetts Municipal Police Departments;(d) Massachusetts State Police;(e) Federal Trade Commission;(f) Office of the United States Attorney;(g) U.S. Postal Inspector;(h) U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Federal Bureau of Investigation;
(i) Division of Professional Licensure;(j) All other state Medical Boards;(k) The Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States, Inc.;(l) Division of Insurance and the Insurance Rating Bureau;(m) Massachusetts Health Data Consortium, Inc.;(n) Department of Public Health;(o) Massachusetts Department of Revenue;(p) U.S. Internal Revenue Service;(q) Office of Chief Medical Examiner;(s) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General;(t) Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts.(u) Department of Industrial Accidents.(v) Division of Medical Assistance, Executive Office of Health and Human Services. All recipients of confidential information designated by 243 CMR 1.00 shall preserve the confidentiality of such data and make it available to the data subject, to the extent such access is required by FIPA.
(12)Membership of Committees. The Board may establish committees of its members to assist in accomplishing its responsibilities. The Board may designate former members for assignment to these committees; however, at least one member of each committee shall be a current member of the Board.