DEFINITIONS

As used in these Rules: (a) “Act” means the Montana Medical Legal Panel Act as established by §§ 27-6-101 through 27-6-704, MCA. (b) “Administrator” may be a hospital administrator with or without medical training or medical expertise in the subject matter of the claim. (c) “Chairperson” means the person selected from among the Panel members to preside over the Panel proceedings. (d) “Claimant” is the person (or persons) who was the Patient alleged to have been injured by Malpractice or who is the legally authorized personal representative of the Patient, if the Patient is legally unable to bring a claim on behalf of himself or herself, or is a person who is permitted by law to recover for injuries alleged to be caused by Malpractice to a Patient. If the Patient is deceased, a “Claimant” is the person legally authorized to act on behalf of the deceased Patient and/or on behalf of those individuals permitted to assert a claim of Malpractice on behalf of the deceased Patient or themselves. (e) “Defendant” means a health care provider against whom a claim has been made. (f) “Dentist” means: (1) for purposes of the assessment of the annual surcharge, an individual licensed to practice dentistry under the provisions of Title 37, chapter 4, MCA, who at the time of the assessment: (i) has as the individual’s principal residence or place of dental practice the state of Montana; (ii) is not employed full-time by any federal governmental agency or entity; and (iii) is not fully retired from the practice of dentistry; or (2) for all other purposes, a person licensed to practice dentistry under the provisions of Title 37, chapter 4, MCA, who at the time of the occurrence of the incident giving rise to the claim: (i) was an individual who had as the principal residence or place of dental practice the state of Montana and was not employed full-time by any federal governmental agency or entity; or (ii) was a professional service corporation, partnership, or other business entity organized under the laws of any state to render dental services and whose shareholders, partners, or owners were individual dentists licensed to practice dentistry under the provisions of Title 37, chapter 4, MCA. (g) “Director” means the Director of the Panel or the Director’s authorized representatives. (h) “Electronically” means by electronic mail or by facsimile. If the office of the Director serves a document electronically, the office of the Director shall ensure that the intended recipient received the document sent electronically. If any document is sent electronically by a party to the office of the Director, the Chairperson or another party, the sending party has the burden of proving that the document was sent electronically and that the intended recipient received and was able to view, electronically or otherwise, and, if applicable, download the document sent electronically, in order to establish service was effectuated by the party. Documents will be accepted as received by the office of the Director if sent electronically by midnight of the day submitted. (i) “Health care facility,” for all purposes under the Act, means each separately licensed facility licensed as a health care facility under Title 50, chapter 5, MCA. A “health care facility” for purposes of this rule does not include: (1) an end-stage renal dialysis facility; (2) a home infusion therapy agency; (3) a residential care facility; or (4) a governmental infirmary, except a university or college infirmary. (j) “Health care provider” or “provider” means a “physician,” “dentist,” “podiatrist,” a “health care facility,” a “hospital” or any other health care provider that is made subject to the jurisdiction of the Montana Medical Legal Panel under Montana law. (k) “Hospital” means hospitals and critical access hospitals, as defined in § 50-5-101, MCA, that are licensed as hospitals and critical access hospitals at the time of the occurrence of the incident giving rise to the claim. (l) “Legal counsel,” “counsel,” or “attorney” mean a person licensed to practice law in Montana by the State Bar of Montana. (m) “Malpractice claim” or “claim” means any claim or potential claim of a Claimant against a health care provider for medical or dental treatment, lack of medical or dental treatment, or other alleged departure from accepted standards of health care in the rendering of professional services which causes injury to the Claimant, whether the Claimant’s claim or potential claim sounds in tort or contract, and includes but is not limited to allegations of battery or wrongful death. (n) “Medical records” means any document in any form kept or generated by a health care provider containing information about a patient’s past, present or future mental or physical health. This definition does not include psychotherapy notes, which are notes taken by a mental health professional during a conversation with the patient and kept separate from the patient’s medical and billing records. (o) “Office of the Director” means the official office of the Montana Medical Legal Panel, provided for in § 27-6-104, MCA, which administers the Act, facilitates Panel hearings pursuant to the Act and is supervised by the Director. (p) “Panel” means the Montana Medical Legal Panel provided for in § 27-6-104, MCA, and it also refers to each individual Panel of Panel members selected to hear a claim or claims against a health care provider. (q) “Panel member” means a health care provider or attorney selected to hear a claim or claims against a health care provider as set forth in the Act. (r) “Party” means the Claimant and the health care provider named in the claim. If multiple health care providers are subject to a single Panel hearing, each health care provider subject to that hearing is considered a party. The parties subject to the Panel hearing are collectively referred to in these Rules as the “parties.” 2 (s) “Patient” is the person who received or was to receive services from the health care provider against whom a Malpractice claim is made and upon whom the Claimant asserts the alleged Malpractice occurred. (t) “Physician” means: (1) for purposes of the assessment of the annual surcharge, an individual licensed to practice medicine under the provisions of Title 37, chapter 3, MCA, who at the time of the assessment: (i) has as the individual’s principal residence or place of medical practice the state of Montana or practices telemedicine as defined in § 37-3-342, MCA; (ii) is not employed full-time by any federal governmental agency or entity; and (iii) is not fully retired from the practice of medicine; or (2) for all other purposes, a person licensed to practice medicine under the provisions of Title 37, chapter 3,MCA, who at the time of the occurrence of the incident giving rise to the claim: (i) was an individual who had as the principal residence or place of medical practice the state of Montana or practiced telemedicine as defined in § 37-3-342, MCA, and was not employed full-time by any federal governmental agency or entity; or (ii) was a professional service corporation, partnership, or other business entity organized under the laws of any state to render medical services and whose shareholders, partners, or owners were individual physicians licensed to practice medicine under the provisions of Title 37, chapter 3, MCA. (u) “Podiatrist” means: (1) for purposes of the assessment of the annual surcharge, an individual licensed to practice podiatry under the provisions of Title 37, chapter 6, MCA, who at the time of the assessment: (i) has as the individual’s principal residence or place of podiatric practice the state of Montana; (ii) is not employed full-time by any federal governmental agency or entity; and (iii) is not fully retired from the practice of podiatry; or (2) for all other purposes, a person licensed to practice podiatry under the provisions of Title 37, chapter 6, MCA, who at the time of the occurrence of the incident giving rise to the claim: (i) was an individual who had as the principal residence or place of podiatric practice the state of Montana and was not employed full-time by any federal governmental agency or entity; or (ii) was a professional service corporation, partnership, or other business entity organized under the laws of any state to render podiatric services, and whose shareholders, partners, or owners were all individual podiatrists licensed to practice podiatry under the provisions of Title 37, chapter 6, MCA. (v) “Submittal date” means the date that the office of the Director receives an Application from the Claimant that complies with these Rules. That is the date the Claimant’s case shall be deemed submitted to the Panel. 3 (w) “Substantial evidence” means such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a reasonable inference of malpractice. (x) “Transmittal date” means the date that the office of the Director transmits a copy of the Claimant’s completed Application to all health care providers whose conduct is claimed by the Application to have constituted the basis for a malpractice claim. This act shall constitute the “transmittal” of the case for purposes set forth in these Rules.