The Physician Profile Program

(1) Purpose of the Program. The Physician Profile Program, established by St. 1996, c. 307, provides for public access to information about physicians. This law, codified at M.G.L. c. 112, § 5, is also referred to as the Physician Profile Law. The Profiles Program is intended to give patients and consumers access to information on the education, training and clinical experience of all physicians holding or having held a full license. (2) Exemption. Information that arises from a person providing or assisting in providing reproductive health care services or gender-affirming health care services, as defined at M.G.L. c. 12, § 11I½ , shall not be published on a physician's public profile, so long as the services provided would have been lawful in Massachusetts and are consistent with standards for good professional practice in Massachusetts. (3) Content of a Profile. Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 112, § 5, the Board shall collect and maintain a public profile on each physician with a full, active or inactive license under M.G.L. c. 112, § 2. The Board shall create individual physician profiles on licensees and disseminate this information to the public. Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 112, § 5, the following information shall be on a public profile, except for information that meets the exemption in 243 CMR 2.15(2): (a) for any criminal convictions for felonies and serious misdemeanors in all jurisdictions; 1. The Board shall determine what constitutes a "serious misdemeanor"; 2. For the purposes of 243 CMR 2.15, a person shall be considered to be convicted of a crime if the person pleaded guilty or was found or adjudged guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction; and (b) any charges for felonies and serious misdemeanors to which a physician pleads nolo contendere or where sufficient facts of guilt were found and the matter was continued without a finding by a court of competent jurisdiction; (c) any final Board disciplinary actions; (d) any final disciplinary actions by licensing boards in other states; (e) any revocation or involuntary restriction of privileges by a hospital, clinic or nursing home under chapter 111, or of any employer who employs physicians licensed by the Board for the purpose of engaging in the practice of medicine in the commonwealth, for reasons related to competence or character that have been taken by the governing body or any other official of the hospital, clinic or nursing home or employer who employs physicians licensed by the Board for the purpose of engaging in the practice of medicine in the Commonwealth after procedural due process has been afforded, or the resignation from or nonrenewal of medical staff membership or the restriction of privileges at a hospital, clinic or nursing home or employer who employs physicians licensed by the Board for the purpose of engaging in the practice of medicine in the Commonwealth taken in lieu of or in settlement of a pending disciplinary case related to competence or character in that hospital, clinic or nursing home or of any employer who employs physicians licensed by the Board for the purpose of engaging in the practice of medicine or employer who employs physicians licensed by the Board for the purpose of engaging in the practice of medicine in the Commonwealth; (f) all medical malpractice court judgments, all medical malpractice arbitration awards in which a payment is awarded to a complaining party, and all settlements of medical malpractice claims in which a payment is made to a complaining party in all jurisdictions; 1. Information concerning paid medical malpractice claims within the Commonwealth shall be put in context by comparing an individual licensee's medical malpractice judgment awards and settlements to the experience of other physicians within the same specialty. 2. Dispositions of paid claims within the Commonwealth shall be reported in a minimum of 3 graduated categories indicating the level of significance of the award or settlement. 3. Dispositions of paid claims in other jurisdictions shall not be reported in graduated categories unless this information is provided to the Board by the medical board in the other jurisdiction where the claim occurred. 4. Information concerning all settlements shall be accompanied by the following statement: "Settlement of a claim may occur for a variety of reasons which do not necessarilyreflect negativelyon the professional competence or conduct of the physician. A payment in settlement of a medical malpractice action or claim should not be construed as creating a presumption that medical malpractice has occurred." 5. Nothing herein shall be construed to limit or prevent the Board from providing further explanatory information regarding the significance of categories in which settlements are reported. 6. Pending malpractice claims shall not be disclosed by the Board to the public. 7. Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent the Board from investigating and disciplining a licensee on the basis of medical malpractice claims that are pending. 8. Payments made as part of a disclosure, apology and early offer program, shall not be construed to be reportable to or by the Board against the physician, absent a determination of substandard care rendered on the part of said physician; and (g) names of medical schools and dates of graduation; (h) graduate medical education; (i) specialty board certification; (j) number of years in practice; (k) names of the hospitals where the licensee has privileges; (l) appointments to medical school faculties and indication as to whether a licensee has a responsibility for graduate medical education within the most recent ten years; (m) information regarding publications in peer-reviewed medical literature within the most recent ten years; (n) information regarding professional or community service activities and awards; and (o) the location of the licensee's primary practice setting; (p) the identification of any translating services that may be available at the licensee's primary practice location; and (q) an indication of whether the licensee participates in the Medicaid program. (3) Mandatory Public Profile. Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 112, § 5, all full licensees must have a public Physician Profile. (a) The Board shall provide an initial licensee with a copy of his or her profile prior to its release to the public. An initial licensee shall have 14 days from the receipt of the draft profile to report to the Board a claim of factual inaccuracy appearing in the profile. Upon receipt of a physician's claim, Board staff may place a temporary administrative hold on the dissemination of the profile. (b) The Board shall provide a licensee with notice of a change in the licensee's public profile when the Board receives notice of a change in information that must be reported to the public pursuant to M.G.L. c. 112, § 5. (4) Optional Information. A physician may elect to have his or her profile include certain information, detailed in M.G.L. c. 112, § 5, such as academic appointments and teaching responsibilities, publications in peer-reviewed journals and professional and community service awards. (5) Profile Inquiry. A licensee may review his or her public profile on the Internet at any time. A licensee may inquire about the accuracy of a fact published or about to be published on his or her profile. A licensee's inquiry about the contents of his or her Physician Profile is not an adjudicatory proceeding as defined in M.G.L. c. 30A, § 1. The licensee may file with the Data Repository a written request for review of the publication of a fact adverse to the licensee's interest. The licensee's inquiry must clearly identify the factual error claimed and may propose a correction acceptable to the licensee. Upon receipt of a letter of inquiry from a physician, Board staff mayplace a temporary administrative hold on the dissemination of the profile. Such a temporary hold shall not last longer than the pendency of the profile inquiry. The Board may review the written materials and respond to the licensee's inquiry