SECTION 191.4. Activities and Scope of Authority

(a) Each district review committee member will endeavor to be reasonably available to act as a resource person for board investigators in the event an investigator needs assistance from the committee member.

(b) Upon the written request of the board, the executive director, or the secretary-treasurer of the board and upon a committee member's availability and willingness to do so, committee members may on occasion be requested to serve as a public information representative of the board. Information delivered at these events by representatives of the board shall be factual, consistent with expressed board policy, and shall not be personal opinions or viewpoints. No committee or member of a committee, including its chairman, shall make or cause to be published any public statement representing such to be the official position or policy of the board unless such position or policy has been adopted or expressed by the board, nor make nor cause to be published any statement or policy statement regarding the committee's findings, recommendations, opinions, or conclusions.

(c) After appropriate orientation and training by the board and the disciplinary process review committee, district review committee members may on occasion be requested by the executive director to participate in informal settlement conferences, probationary panels, mediation, or perform other duties as may be assigned to committees or committee members. Pursuant to Chapter 187 of this title, (relating to Procedural Rules), the committee member shall make recommendations for each investigative file. A physician committee member who participates in an informal settlement conference on a complaint relating to medical competency must have the qualifications of an expert panel provided under §182.5(2) of this title (relating to Expert Panels). A DRC member is not required to meet the selection criteria of expert physician reviewers as set out in §182.8 of this title (relating to Expert Physician Reviewers) that requires an expert physician reviewer be in the same specialty as a physician who is the subject of a complaint.

Source Note: The provisions of this §191.4 adopted to be effective December 1, 1988, 13 TexReg 5825; amended to be effective July 6, 1990, 15 TexReg 3634; amended to be effective December 31, 1990, 15 TexReg 7367; amended to be effective March 6, 2003, 28 TexReg 1884; amended to be effective September 20, 2007, 32 TexReg 6315