Section 4.02 - General Provisions(1)Communications. All written correspondence should be addressed to and filed with the Board of Registration in Medicine, Committee on Acupuncture, at its official mailing address, 200 Harvard Mill Square, Suite 330, Wakefield, Massachusetts 01880.(2)(a)Service. The Committee shall provide notice of its actions in accordance with 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 committee's action. 243 CMR 4.00 provides that the Committee must notify parties, service maybe 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 Committee. When an Administrative Magistrate has jurisdiction over an adjudicatory proceeding, proper service by the Respondent includes filing copies of all papers and exhibits with: 1. the Committee, care of the Director of the Acupuncture Unit;2. the Administrative Magistrate assigned to the adjudicatory proceeding and3. the Complaint Counsel assigned to the adjudicatory proceeding. All papers served must be accompanied by a certificate of service.(b)Notice to Committee Members. A Respondent (or his/her representative) and other persons shall not engage in ex parte communications with individual Committee members regarding a disciplinary proceeding. Communications to Committee members regarding disciplinary proceedings shall be in writing and directed to Committee members as follows: Eight copies to the Executive Director of the Board of Registration in Medicine, one copy to the Director of the Acupuncture Unit, and one copy to the Director of the Enforcement Unit.(3)Date of Receipt. Communications are deemed received on the date of actual receipt by the Committee.(4)Computation of Time. The Committee shall compute time in accordance with 801 CMR 1.01(4)(c).(5)Extension of Time. The Committee in its discretion may extend any time limit prescribed or allowed by 243 CMR 4.00.(6)Identification and Signature; Paper Size. All papers filed with the Committee 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 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches.(7)Decisions by the Committee; Quorum. Unless 243 CMR 4.00 provides otherwise, a majority of members present and voting at a Committee meeting shall make all decisions and the Committee shall record its decisions in the minutes of its meetings. A quorum is a majority of the Committee, excluding vacancies.(8)Availability of Committee Records to the Public.(a) The availability of the Committee'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 the Committee's regulations. A file or some portion of it is not a public record if the Committee 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 Committee issues a Statement of Allegations, dismisses a complaint, or takes other final action, the Committee's records concerning a disciplinary matter are confidential.(c) The Committee's records of disciplinary matters, as limited by 243 CMR 4.02(8)(a) and (b), include the following: 1. Closed complaint files, which contain the complaint and other information, are public records. The name of a complainant or patient and relevant acupuncture 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. Enforcement 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 Committee's files, which contain each paper filed with the Committee in connection with an adjudicatory proceeding, are public records, unless otherwise impounded or placed under seal by the Administrative Magistrate or the Committee.4. Records of the review and investigation of statutory reports are not public records and are confidential.5. Closed anonymous complaints, which are determined to be frivolous or lacking in either legal merit or factual basis, consistent with 243 CMR 4.03(3)(a) are not public records and are confidential.6. Letters of Agreement and related materials; except that, if the Committee suspends the license of an acupuncturist for violation of the terms of a Letter of Agreement, the fact that the acupuncturist had entered a Letter of Agreement shall become public, and a general description of Letters of Agreement will be provided, but the Letter of Agreement itself and the related materials shall remain confidential.7. Social security numbers.8. National Provider Identifier (NPI) numbers and personal information collected during the NPI application process shall be confidential, except to the extent that federal or state law, or the Rules and Advisory Statements of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) or the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES) require the information be disclosed or made public.(9)Public Nature of Committee Meetings. (a) All meetings of the Committee are open to the public to the extent required by M.G.L. c. 30A, § 11A.(b) As provided by M.G.L. c. 30A, § 11A, a Committee 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 Committee may carry out its functions under these rules in closed session if these functions affect an individual licensee or patient, the licensee or patient requests that the Committee function in closed session, and the Committee 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 Committee. All communications with the Committee charging misconduct, or reporting or providing information to the Committee pursuant to M.G.L. c. 112, § 158, or assisting the Committee 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.(11)State or Federal Agencies, Boards or Institutions Designated to Receive Investigative Records or Confidential Information. The Committee is authorized by the Board to review written requests for the Committee's investigative records or other confidential information from the following agencies which are hereby designated to receive, upon Committee 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) Divisions of Professional Licensure and Health Professions Licensure;(j) all other state Medical and Acupuncture Boards;(k) Division of Insurance and the Insurance Rating Bureau;(l) Massachusetts Health Data Consortium, Inc.;(m) Department of Public Health;(n) Massachusetts Department of Revenue;(o) U.S. Internal Revenue Service;(p) National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. All recipients of confidential information designated by 243 CMR 4.00 shall preserve the confidentiality of such data and make it available to the data subject, to the extent such access is required by FIPA.