(a) The purpose of this section is to allow the Arkansas State Medical Board to provide information to credentialing organizations.
(b) As used in this section:
(1) “Accrediting organization” means an organization that awards accreditation or certification to hospitals, managed care organizations, or other healthcare organizations, including, but not limited to, The Joint Commission and the National Committee for Quality Assurance;
(2) “Credentialing information” means:
(A) Information regarding a physician's:
(i) Professional training, qualifications, background, practice history, and experience, for example, status of medical license;
(ii) Clinical hospital privileges;
(iii) Status of United States Drug Enforcement Administration certificate;
(iv) Education, training, and board certification;
(v) Work history;
(vi) Current malpractice coverage;
(vii) History of professional liability or malpractice claims;
(viii) Drug or alcohol abuse to the extent permitted by law;
(ix) History of board appearances;
(x) Loss, surrender, restriction, or suspension of license;
(xi) Felony convictions;
(xii) History of loss or limitation of privileges or disciplinary activity;
(xiii) Attestation of the correctness and completeness of the application; and
(xiv) History of Medicare or Medicaid or other sanctions; and
(B) Other objective information typically required by accrediting organizations for the purpose of credentialing physicians;
(3) “Credentialing organization” means a hospital, clinic, or other healthcare organization, managed care organization, insurer, or health maintenance organization;
(4) “Primary source verification procedure” means the procedure used by a credentialing organization to test the accuracy of documents and credentialing information submitted to it by or about a physician who is applying for affiliation or participation with the credentialing organization. This procedure involves the verification of credentials with the originating source of the credentials; and
(5) “Telemedicine physician” means a physician who is physically located at a distant site as defined by the Telemedicine Act, § 17-80-401 et seq., but who uses an electronic medium to perform an act that is part of a patient care service initiated in this state.
(c)
(1) All physicians licensed by the board shall submit such credentialing information as the board may request so that the board may verify the information by the primary source verification procedure in order to make the information available to credentialing organizations. If the physician should fail to submit the information as the board requests within a period of thirty (30) days, the failure can result in the suspension of the physician's license to practice medicine in the State of Arkansas after the matter is presented to the full board for a hearing pursuant to the Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act, § 25-15-201 et seq.
(2) Any credentialing organization shall submit such credentialing information as it has in its possession to the board in order to complete the primary source verification procedure, upon the board's request and upon the board's providing proof that the physician has authorized the release of the information. The failure of the organization to release the information to the board shall be grounds to have the license to do business in the State of Arkansas suspended upon the board's presenting the proof to the licensing agency of that organization.
(3) Credentialing organizations may utilize credentialing information provided by the board and verified by the primary source verification procedure of the board to evaluate the following:
(A) Granting or denying the application of a physician for affiliation or participation within the organization or its networks;
(B) The quality of services provided by a physician or the physician's competency or qualifications;
(C) Renewal of the affiliation or participation of the physician; and
(D) The type, extent, or conditions of the physician's privileges or participation in the network.
(d)
(1)
(A) The board shall provide to any credentialing organization any credentialing information the board collects concerning any person licensed by the board if the person authorizes release of the information.
(B) The board shall provide the information within fifteen (15) business days after receipt of the request.
(C) If any person fails or refuses for any reason to authorize release of credentialing information, the requesting credentialing organization shall be entitled on grounds of the refusal to exclude the person from any privileges, contract, or network of the credentialing organization.
(2)
(A) The board shall promulgate rules establishing a credentialing information system, and the rules shall indicate the procedures for collection and release of credentialing information under this section.
(B) The rules shall require that before July 1, 2003, the process of recredentialing a physician shall be completed within thirty (30) business days unless circumstances beyond the control of the board make completion of the process within thirty (30) business days impossible or unduly burdensome.
(C) If the credentialing process is not completed within the required time and the board does not provide an adequate explanation for failing to meet the time requirement, the fee for the credentialing process shall be refunded to the credentialing organization, hospital, or other qualified recipient of the fee.
(D) If disagreements arise over a claim that circumstances have made timely completion impossible or unduly burdensome, the disagreement shall be presented to the advisory committee established under subdivision (d)(3) of this section for a recommendation to the board on whether or not to refund the fee and in what amount so that the board may issue an order to refund the fee or deny the request after consideration by the board.
(3) The board shall appoint a ten-member advisory committee to assist with the adoption of policies and rules concerning the credentialing information system. At least six (6) of the ten (10) members of the advisory committee shall be representatives of credentialing organizations subject to this section, including not fewer than two (2) hospital representatives and not fewer than two (2) insurer or health maintenance organization representatives.
(4) Credentialing information shall not be disclosed to any parties other than the applicable healthcare provider and the credentialing organization and its designated credentialing and appeals, peer review, and quality improvement committees or bodies. Except as permitted in this section, credentialing information shall not be used for any purpose other than review by the board and credentialing organizations of the professional background, competency, qualifications, and credentials or renewal of credentials of a healthcare provider or appeals therefrom, and all such credentialing information shall be exempt from disclosure under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act of 1967, § 25-19-101 et seq. Credentialing information may be disclosed in the following circumstances:
(A) By the board in disciplinary hearings before the board or in any trial or appeal of the board action or order;
(B) By the board or credentialing organization to any licensing, regulatory, or disciplinary authorities or agencies of the United States or of other states or jurisdictions;
(C) In any legal or regulatory proceeding that:
(i) Is brought by a:
(a) Healthcare provider;
(b) Representative of the healthcare provider or a class thereof;
(c) Local, state, or federal agency or authority; or
(d) Patient or group or class of patients or their authorized representatives or agents; and
(ii) Challenges the actions, omissions, or conduct of the credentialing organization with respect to credentialing of any healthcare provider or the grant or denial of any affiliation or participation of the healthcare provider with or in the credentialing organization or any network thereof; or
(D) By any party when authorized to do so by the healthcare provider to whom the credentialing information relates.
(5) The evaluation and discussion of credentialing information by a credentialing organization shall not be subject to discovery or admissible pursuant to the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure or the Freedom of Information Act of 1967, § 25-19-101 et seq.
(6) The board may enter into contractual agreements with users of the credentialing information system to define the type and form of information to be provided and to give users assurances of the integrity of the information collected.
(7)
(A) The board may charge credentialing organizations a reasonable fee for the use of the credentialing service as established by rule.
(B) The fee shall be set in consultation with the advisory committee and shall be set at such a rate as will reimburse the board, when added to the credentialing assessments collected from physicians, for the cost of maintaining the credentialing information system.
(C) A credentialing organization shall not charge or seek payment of the fee from a physician licensee.
(D) The board's costs may not exceed the fees charged by private vendors with a comparable statewide credentialing service.
(E) The board may assess each physician licensee an amount not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100) per year to offset the cost of providing the credentialing service.
(e)
(1)
(A) In lieu of testing credentialing information by its own primary source verification procedure, a credentialing organization may rely upon credentialing information from the board if the board certifies that the information provided by the board has been tested by the board's primary source verification procedure.
(B) The credentialing organization shall be immune from civil suit based on any allegation of wrongdoing or negligence involved in the collection and verification of or reliance upon credentialing information on a healthcare provider if the credentialing organization has utilized the information provided by the board in credentialing a healthcare provider for affiliation or participation with the credentialing organization. However, this does not convey immunity from civil suit to a credentialing organization for any credentialing decision it makes.
(2) Except as provided in subsections (f) and (h) of this section, a credentialing organization shall be precluded hereby from seeking credentialing information from the physician or from sources other than the board if:
(A) The same credentialing information is available from the board;
(B) At the time the credentialing information is requested, the board:
(i) Holds certification by the National Committee for Quality Assurance as a certified credentials verification organization;
(ii) Demonstrates compliance with the principles for credentials verification organizations set forth by The Joint Commission;
(iii) Documents compliance with Department of Health rules applicable to credentialing; and
(iv) Maintains evidence of compliance with the standards referenced in subdivisions (e)(2)(B)(i)-(iii) of this section; and
(C)
(i) The board charges fees that comply with subdivision (d)(7) of this section.
(ii) Until the board satisfies each of the foregoing prerequisites, credentialing organizations, in their discretion, may utilize credentialing information obtained from the board, or they may seek other sources for the same credentialing information.
(iii) If at any time the board fails to satisfy any of the certification or compliance standards referenced in this subsection, a credentialing organization is not required to utilize the board to obtain credentialing information during any period in which the board lacks such accreditation or compliance.
(f)
(1) Credentialing organizations that utilize the credentialing information system offered by the board shall not attempt to collect duplicate information from individual physicians or originating sources, but nothing in this section shall prevent any credentialing organization from collecting or inquiring about any data not available from or through the board, nor from reporting to or inquiring of the National Practitioner Data Bank.
(2) The board may seek an injunction against any credentialing organization violating or attempting to violate this section and, upon prevailing, shall be entitled to recover attorney's fees and court costs involved in obtaining the injunction.
(g) The board will have the authority to hire such employees and enter into contracts with attorneys, individuals, or corporations for services as may be necessary to bring about the purpose of this section.
(h)
(1) If the medical staff bylaws of a credentialing organization require the use of a primary source verification procedure for a telemedicine physician, the credentialing organization may obtain a primary source verification by:
(A) Seeking credentialing information from the board using the process established under this section; or
(B) Using a streamlined process for credentialing and privileging telemedicine practitioners established by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under 42 C.F.R. § 482.22, as existing on January 1, 2019, if the telemedicine physician has been credentialed by another Arkansas hospital within the past three (3) years.
(2) This section does not require a credentialing organization to use a primary source verification procedure for credentialing a telemedicine physician unless the use of a primary source verification procedure is mandated by the organization's medical staff bylaws.
(3) Solely for purposes of determining the fee to be paid under subdivision (d)(7) of this section, the board shall not classify a physician as a telemedicine physician, regardless of whether the physician is providing telemedicine services for organizations in this state or outside of this state, if:
(A) The physician's practice location is in Arkansas; or
(B) The physician is providing services on-site at the credentialing organization that is seeking credentialing information about the physician.