SECTION 107.107. Use of Dental Review Panel

(a) If the preliminary investigation finds that there is probable cause to indicate that an act by a licensee/registrant fell below the minimum standard of care, the relevant information and records collected by board staff shall be reviewed by a panel of experts during the official investigation. Each panel of experts shall include an initial and second reviewer and, if necessary, a third reviewer. The panel of experts for an investigation shall be selected from members of the Dental Review Panel.

(b) Composition and Duties. The Dental Review Panel shall be composed of dentists and dental hygienists appointed by the board to assist with complaints and investigations relating to professional competency by acting as expert dentist and dental hygienist reviewers.

(c) Qualifications. To be eligible to serve on the Dental Review Panel, a dentist or dental hygienist must meet the following criteria:

(1) licensed in Texas to practice dentistry or dental hygiene;

(2) no history of disciplinary action by the board in the ten years prior to application;

(3) acceptable malpractice complaint history;

(4) in active practice currently and at the time of the alleged violation, or supervising clinical care in an academic setting;

(5) demonstrated knowledge of accepted standards of dental care for the diagnosis, care and treatment related to the alleged violation; and

(6) demonstrated training or experience to offer an expert opinion regarding accepted standards of dental care.

(d) Term; Resignation; Removal.

(1) An expert reviewer shall serve on the Dental Review Panel until resignation or removal from the Dental Review Panel or non-renewal of contract.

(2) An expert reviewer may resign from the Dental Review Panel at any time.

(3) An expert reviewer may be removed from the Dental Review Panel for good cause at any time on order of the Executive Director. Good cause for removal includes:

(A) failure to maintain the eligibility requirements set forth in subsection (c) of this section;

(B) failure to inform the board of potential or apparent conflicts of interest;

(C) repeated failure to timely review complaints or timely submit reports to the board;

(D) repeated failure to prepare the reports in the prescribed format; and

(E) direct contact with the complainant or the respondent.

(e) The presiding officer or board secretary may make an interim appointment of an expert reviewer to serve the board until the reviewer can be considered for appointment by the board at the next board meeting.

Source Note: The provisions of this §107.107 adopted to be effective September 6, 2016, 41 TexReg 6694