§ 6324 — Rights of health service doctors

(a) Admission to plan.--Every health service doctor practicing within the area covered by any professional health service corporation shall have the right, on complying with such regulations as the corporation may make with the approval of the Department of Health, to register with such corporation for such general or special professional health services as he may be licensed to practice, within that area, but the corporation may, with the approval of the Department of Health, refuse to place the name of any health service doctor on its register. Any professional health service corporation may, with the approval of the Department of Health, remove from its register the name of any health service doctor after due notice and opportunity for hearing for cause satisfactory to the corporation. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the discretion of a professional health service corporation to determine the classes or kinds of services that will be covered under its contracts.

(b) Freedom from control.--Subject to the provisions of section 6322(e) of this title (relating to liability of corporation limited), a professional health service corporation shall impose no restrictions on the health service doctors who administer to its subscribers, as to methods of diagnosis or treatment. The relation between a subscriber, or any of his dependents, and the health service doctor shall be identical with the relation that ordinarily exists in the community between a health service doctor and his patient. Subject to the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, no person shall be permitted to interfere with the choice or selection by a patient of his health service doctor after that choice or selection has been made by an adult of sound mind.

(c) Disputes.--All matters, disputes, or controversies relating to the professional health services rendered by the health service doctors, or any questions involving professional ethics, shall be considered and determined only by health service doctors as selected in a manner prescribed in the bylaws of the professional health service corporation.

Legislative History

(Oct. 9, 2008, P.L.1393, No.108, eff. 120 days) 2008 Amendment.Act 108 amended subsec. (a).