(a)  Neither the proceedings nor the records of peer-review boards as defined in § 5-31.1-1 are subject to discovery or admissible in evidence in any case save litigation arising out of the imposition of sanctions upon a dentist or dental hygienist. Any imposition or notice of a restriction of privileges or a requirement of supervision imposed on a dentist or dental hygienist for unprofessional conduct as defined in § 5-31.1-10 is subject to discovery and admissible in any proceeding against that dentist or dental hygienist for performing or against any dental-care facility or dental-care provider that allows the dentist to perform the dental procedures that are the subject of the restriction or supervision during the period of the restriction or supervision or subsequent to that period. Nothing contained in this section applies to records made in the regular course of business by a hospital or other provider of healthcare information. Documents or records available from original sources are not to be construed as immune from discovery or use in any civil proceedings merely because they were presented during the proceedings of the committee.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 5-31.1-29

  • Board: means the Rhode Island board of examiners in dentistry or any committee or subcommittee of the board. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-31.1-1
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Dental hygienist: means a person with a license to practice dental hygiene in this state under the provisions of this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-31.1-1
  • Dentist: means a person with a license to practice dentistry in this state under the provisions of this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-31.1-1
  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Peer-review board: means any committee of a state, local, dental or dental hygiene association or society, or a committee of any licensed healthcare facility, or the dental staff of the committee, or any committee of a dental care foundation or health-maintenance organization, or any staff committee or consultant of a hospital, medical, or dental service corporation, the function of which, or one of the functions of which, is to evaluate and improve the quality of dental care rendered by providers of dental care service or to determine that dental care services rendered were professionally indicated or were performed in compliance with the applicable standard of care or that the cost for dental care rendered was considered reasonable by the providers of professional dental care services in the area and includes a committee functioning as a utilization review committee under the provisions of Pub. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-31.1-1
  • Person: means any individual, partnership, firm, corporation, association, trust or estate, state or political subdivision, or instrumentality of a state. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-31.1-1
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • unprofessional conduct: as used in this chapter includes, but is not limited to, the following items or any combination of them and may be defined by regulations established by the board with the approval of the director:

    (1)  Fraudulent or deceptive procuring or use of a license or limited registration;

    (2)  All advertising of dental, dental hygiene, or DAANCE-certified maxillofacial surgery assisting business that is intended, or has a tendency, to deceive the public or a dentist advertising as a specialty in an area of dentistry unless the dentist:

    (i)  Is a diplomat of or a fellow in a specialty board accredited or recognized by the American Dental Association; or

    (ii)  Has completed a postgraduate program approved by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association;

    (3)  Conviction of a felony; conviction of a crime arising out of the practice of dentistry, dental hygiene, or DAANCE-certified maxillofacial surgery assisting;

    (4)  Abandonment of a patient;

    (5)  Dependence upon controlled substances, habitual drunkenness, or rendering professional services to a patient while the dentist, dental hygienist, DAANCE-certified maxillofacial surgery assistant, or limited registrant is intoxicated or incapacitated by the use of drugs;

    (6)  Promotion by a dentist, dental hygienist, DAANCE-certified maxillofacial surgery assistant, or limited registrant of the sale of drugs, devices, appliances, or goods or services provided for a patient in a manner as to exploit the patient for the financial gain of the dentist, dental hygienist, DAANCE-certified maxillofacial surgery assistant, or limited registrant;

    (7)  Immoral conduct of a dentist, dental hygienist, DAANCE-certified maxillofacial surgery assistant, or limited registrant in the practice of dentistry, dental hygiene, or DAANCE-certified maxillofacial surgery assisting;

    (8)  Willfully making and filing false reports or records in the practice of dentistry or dental hygiene;

    (9)  Willful omission to file or record, or willfully impeding or obstructing a filing or recording, or inducing another person to omit to file or record dental or other reports as required by law;

    (10)  Failure to furnish details of a patient's dental record to succeeding dentists or dental care facility upon proper request pursuant to this chapter;

    (11)  Solicitation of professional patronage by agents or persons or profiting from acts of those representing themselves to be agents of the licensed dentist, dental hygienist, or limited registrant;

    (12)  Division of fees, or agreeing to split or divide the fees, received for professional services for any person for bringing to or referring a patient;

    (13)  Agreeing with clinical or bioanalytical laboratories to accept payments from those laboratories for individual tests or test series for patients, or agreeing with dental laboratories to accept payment from those laboratories for work referred;

    (14)  Willful misrepresentation in treatments;

    (15)  Practicing dentistry with an unlicensed dentist or practicing dental hygiene with an unlicensed dental hygienist or practicing DAANCE-certified maxillofacial surgery assisting with an unlicensed DAANCE-certified maxillofacial surgery assistant, except in an accredited training program, or with a dental assistant in accordance with the rules and regulations of the board or aiding or abetting those unlicensed persons in the practice of dentistry or dental hygiene;

    (16)  Gross and willful overcharging for professional services, including filing of false statements for collection of fees for which services are not rendered, or willfully making or assisting in making a false claim or deceptive claim or misrepresenting a material fact for use in determining rights to dental care or other benefits;

    (17)  Offering, undertaking, or agreeing to cure or treat disease by a secret method, procedure, treatment, or medicine;

    (18)  Professional or mental incompetence;

    (19)  Incompetent, negligent, or willful misconduct in the practice of dentistry, dental hygiene, or DAANCE-certified maxillofacial surgery assisting, including the rendering of unnecessary dental services and any departure from, or the failure to conform to, the minimal standards of acceptable and prevailing dental, dental hygiene, or DAANCE-certified maxillofacial surgery assisting practice in his or her area of expertise as is determined by the board. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-31.1-10

(b)  There is no monetary liability on the part of, and no cause of action for damages arising against, any member of an appointed peer-review board operated pursuant to written bylaws, for any act or proceeding undertaken or performed within the scope of the functions of that board.

(c)  There is no monetary liability on the part of, and no cause of action for damages arising against, any person on account of the communication of information in the possession of the person to any peer-review board or the board of examiners in dentistry when the communication is intended to aid in the evaluation of the qualifications, fitness, or character of a practitioner of dentistry or dental hygiene and does not represent as true any matter not reasonably believed to be true.

(d)  Any peer-review processes authorized by statute and carried out in good faith have the benefit of the state action exemption to the state antitrust law.

History of Section.
P.L. 1987, ch. 358, § 2.