§ 33-26-408 — Protected action and communication

Wyoming § 33-26-408

• Jurisdiction: Wyoming
• Title 33: Professions and Occupations
• Ch. 26: PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS
• Art. 4: INVESTIGATIONS AND DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS

Text

(a) There shall be no liability on the part of and no
action for damages against:
(i) Board and examination committee members acting
within the scope of their functions without malice and in the
reasonable belief that their actions were warranted;
(ii) Any person providing information voluntarily or
pursuant to a subpoena, in good faith to a peer review committee
or in good faith to the board or the examining committee without
malice and in reasonable belief that the information is
accurate.
(b) All board records shall be maintained and protected
from harm.
(c) Final findings of fact, conclusions of law, orders of
the board entered and any consent decree, stipulation or
agreement to which the board is a party in any disciplinary
docket of the board are public documents. The board may order,
under special circumstances and upon entry of specific findings
setting forth those circumstances, that a consent decree,
stipulation or agreement to which the board is a party in any
disciplinary docket is not a public document.
(d) The board shall promptly report and provide all final
orders entered by it to the chief of the medical staff and
hospital administrator of each hospital in which the licensee
has medical staff privileges and to all appropriate agencies
including the federation of state medical boards, the national
practitioner data bank and other state medical boards.
(e) This section shall not be construed to prohibit the
United States or the state of Wyoming from obtaining information
from the board concerning a physician who is the subject of a
criminal investigation. Upon petition to a state or federal
district court, supported by affidavit, the judge may order the
Wyoming board of medicine to release records of any proceedings,
testimony of witnesses and reports or investigation for in-
camera inspection by the judge, or the judge may deny the
petition for failure to show good cause. The petition shall
state the nature of the criminal investigation and the identity
of the physician who is under investigation. If the judge
grants the petition and orders the board to produce the board's
records for in-camera inspection, the board shall comply within
ten (10) days after entry of the order or as otherwise ordered
by the court. Upon receipt of the records, the judge shall
inspect them to determine what material, if any, is relevant to
the criminal investigation. Material deemed to be relevant
shall be made available to the investigation if otherwise
admissible under the Wyoming Rules of Evidence. All records and
material deemed by the court to be irrelevant or otherwise
inadmissible under the Wyoming Rules of Evidence shall be
returned to the board and the contents thereof shall not be
divulged.
(f) The following documents are not public documents and
are not subject to disclosure by the board to any person or
entity nor are they subject to discovery in any civil or
administrative action or admissible in any nonboard proceeding
except when necessary for further board action, in any action in
which the board may be named as a party or upon judicial review
of a board order:
(i) Investigative notes, attorney’s notes and work
product and reports, pleadings, correspondence, witness
statements and deposition transcripts and copies of original
medical and prescription records in the possession of the board,
whether acquired by the board, by any agent of the board or by
any agency that has cooperated with or provided information to
the board regarding the investigation of a disciplinary docket;
and
(ii) Any and all records of the board regarding
licensure applications and proceedings thereon.
(g) A respondent in a disciplinary case shall not be
entitled to copies of investigative material unless the material
is relevant to an ongoing investigation or a contested case
hearing.
(h) The confidentiality of all documents and information
described in this section shall exist and continue regardless of
whether the confidential material is in the custody of any
agency of the United States or any other agency of the state of
Wyoming with whom the board has cooperated or is cooperating in
an investigation.
(j) This section shall not be construed to prohibit the
board from publishing in a directory or otherwise disclosing,
general information about its licensees and former licensees
including names, practice addresses, dates of licensure,
licensure by other states, areas of practice, education,
training and specialty board certifications.