INFORMAL PROCEEDINGS.

(a) The board by rule shall adopt procedures governing:

(1) informal disposition of a contested case under Section 2001.056, Government Code; and

(2) informal proceedings held in compliance with Section 2001.054, Government Code.

(b) Rules adopted under this section must require that:

(1) an informal meeting in compliance with Section 2001.054, Government Code, be scheduled not later than the 180th day after the date the board's official investigation of the complaint is commenced as provided by Section 154.057(b), unless good cause is shown by the board for scheduling the informal meeting after that date;

(2) the board give notice to the license holder of the time and place of the meeting not later than the 45th day before the date the meeting is held;

(3) the complainant and the license holder be provided an opportunity to be heard;

(4) at least one of the board members or district review committee members participating in the informal meeting as a panelist be a member who represents the public;

(5) the board's legal counsel or a representative of the attorney general be present to advise the board or the board's staff;

(6) a member of the board's staff be at the meeting to present to the board's representative the facts the staff reasonably believes it could prove by competent evidence or qualified witnesses at a hearing; and

(7) if the complaint includes an allegation that the license holder has violated the standard of care, the panel conducting the informal proceeding consider whether the physician was practicing complementary and alternative medicine.

(c) An affected physician is entitled to:

(1) reply to the staff's presentation; and

(2) present the facts the physician reasonably believes the physician could prove by competent evidence or qualified witnesses at a hearing.

(d) After ample time is given for the presentations, the board representative shall recommend that the investigation be closed or shall attempt to mediate the disputed matters and make a recommendation regarding the disposition of the case in the absence of a hearing under applicable law concerning contested cases.

(e) If the license holder has previously been the subject of disciplinary action by the board, the board shall schedule the informal meeting as soon as practicable but not later than the deadline prescribed by Subsection (b)(1).

(f) The notice required by Subsection (b)(2) must be accompanied by a written statement of the nature of the allegations and the information the board intends to use at the meeting. If the board does not provide the statement or information at that time, the license holder may use that failure as grounds for rescheduling the informal meeting. If the complaint includes an allegation that the license holder has violated the standard of care, the notice must include a copy of each report prepared by an expert physician reviewer under Section 154.0561. The license holder must provide to the board the license holder's rebuttal at least 15 business days before the date of the meeting in order for the information to be considered at the meeting.

(f-1) Before providing a report to a license holder under Subsection (f), the board must redact any identifying information of an expert physician reviewer other than the specialty of the expert physician reviewer.

(g) The board by rule shall define circumstances constituting good cause for purposes of Subsection (b)(1), including the extended illness of a board investigator and an expert physician reviewer's delinquency in reviewing and submitting a report to the board.

(h) Section 164.007(c) applies to the board's investigation file used in an informal meeting under this section.

(i) On request by a physician under review, the board shall make a recording of the informal settlement conference proceeding. The recording is a part of the investigative file and may not be released to a third party unless authorized under this subtitle. The board may charge the physician a fee to cover the cost of recording the proceeding.