The medical board must adopt complaint-investigation rules and handle complaints on a set timetable, including notices to complainants and escalation if a complaint stays unresolved.
Sec. 603.204. GENERAL RULES REGARDING COMPLAINT INVESTIGATION AND DISPOSITION. (a) The medical board shall adopt rules concerning the investigation of a complaint filed under this chapter. The rules shall: (1) distinguish among categories of complaints; (2) ensure that a complaint is not dismissed without appropriate consideration; (3) require that if a complaint is dismissed, a letter shall be sent to the person who filed the complaint explaining the action taken on the dismissed complaint; (4) ensure that the person who filed the complaint has an opportunity to explain the allegations made in the complaint; and (5) prescribe guidelines concerning the categories of complaints that require the use of a private investigator and the procedures for the medical board to obtain the services of a private investigator. (b) The medical board shall: (1) dispose of each complaint in a timely manner; and (2) establish, not later than the 30th day after the date the medical board receives a complaint, a schedule for conducting each phase of the complaint resolution process that is under the control of the medical board. (c) Each party to the complaint shall be notified of the projected time requirements for pursuing the complaint. Each party shall be notified of any change in the schedule established under Subsection (b)(2) not later than the seventh day after the date the change is made. (d) The executive director of the medical board shall notify the president of the medical board of a complaint that is not resolved within the time prescribed by the medical board for resolving the complaint so that the president may take necessary action on the complaint. Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 388, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999. Amended by: Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 231 (S.B. 403), Sec. 32, eff. September 1, 2005. Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1 (S.B. 219), Sec. 5.172, eff. April 2, 2015. Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 838 (S.B. 202), Sec. 2.111, eff. September 1, 2015.