{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-63-63-1-1949.7","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 63, § 63-1-1949.7","heading":"Independent informal dispute resolution process","body":"A. The Department shall give a long-term care administrator who\n\nthe Department has determined, upon investigation, has violated the\n\nprovisions of this act an opportunity to participate in an\n\nindependent informal dispute resolution process of the case in\n\naccordance with this section. The Department may contract with a\n\nthird-party vendor to provide the independent informal dispute\n\nresolution.\n\nB. The administrator shall make a written request to the\n\nDepartment to participate in an informal dispute resolution. Upon\n\nreceipt of such request, the Department shall:\n\n1. Refer the case to the informal dispute resolution provider,\n\nif the Department contracts with a third-party vendor as described\n\nin subsection A of this section, and the informal dispute resolution\n\nprovider shall:\n\na. schedule a time and date for an informal dispute\n\nresolution meeting and inform the parties of such time\n\nand date, and\n\nb. appoint an impartial decision-making panel to conduct\n\nthe informal dispute resolution as provided by\n\nsubsection C of this section; or\n\n2. If the Department does not contract with a third-party\n\nvendor as described in subsection A of this section, the Department\n\nshall:\n\na. schedule a time and date for an informal dispute\n\nresolution meeting and inform the parties of such time\n\nand date, and\n\nb. appoint an impartial decision-making panel to conduct\n\nthe informal dispute resolution as provided by\n\nsubsection C of this section.\n\nC. The impartial decision-making panel shall be a group of six\n\n(6) individuals who meet the following criteria:\n\n1. Three members shall be impartial volunteers who have\n\nexperience in the operation of the same type of long-term facility\n\nas the administrator who is the subject of the complaint. Such\n\nvolunteers may include, but not be limited to, an administrator,\n\nassistant administrator, owner, operator, director of nursing, or\n\ncompliance executive of an appropriate long-term care facility, but\n\nshall not include any person with a direct financial interest in any\n\nfacility that employs or contracts with the administrator who is the\n\nsubject of the complaint; and\n\n2. Three members shall be persons representing the aging or\n\ndisabled community, as appropriate for the type of long-term\n\nfacility whose administrator is the subject of the complaint.\n\nD. Each party shall submit to the impartial decision-making\n\npanel all documentary evidence that the party believes has a bearing\n\non or relevance to the violation or violations alleged by the\n\nDepartment in the complaint.\n\nE. The Department shall present initial arguments. The\n\nadministrator shall then present his or her arguments. The informal\n\ndispute resolution shall be limited to no more than two (2) hours in\n\nlength, with each party being permitted one (1) hour to present its\n\narguments; however, the impartial decision-making panel may grant\n\neach party additional equal time for good cause as determined by the\n\nimpartial decision-making panel.\n\nF. Rules of evidence or procedure shall not apply to the\n\ninformal dispute resolution except as provided in this section. The\n\nimpartial decision-making panel may:\n\n1. Accept any information that the impartial decision-making\n\npanel deems material to the issue being presented; and\n\n2. Reject any information that the impartial decision-making\n\npanel deems immaterial to the issue being presented.\n\nG. The informal dispute resolution may not be recorded;\n\nhowever, the impartial decision-making panel may make written or\n\nrecorded notes of the arguments.\n\nH. 1. Only employees of or health care providers contracted by\n\nthe facility where the administrator who is the subject of the\n\ncomplaint is employed may appear or participate in the informal\n\ndispute resolution on behalf of the administrator, except that the\n\nadministrator may call one character witness to appear and testify\n\non his or her behalf.\nake written or\n\nrecorded notes of the arguments.\n\nH. 1. Only employees of or health care providers contracted by\n\nthe facility where the administrator who is the subject of the\n\ncomplaint is employed may appear or participate in the informal\n\ndispute resolution on behalf of the administrator, except that the\n\nadministrator may call one character witness to appear and testify\n\non his or her behalf.\n\n2. Only employees of the Department may appear or participate\n\nat the meeting for, or on behalf of, the Department for the purpose\n\nof presenting arguments. In addition to such employees, one or more\n\nemployees of the Department may provide technical assistance to the\n\nimpartial decision-making panel at the panel’s request. Any\n\nemployee of the Department who participates in the informal dispute\n\nresolution process as described in this paragraph shall have no\n\ncurrent involvement in long-term care facility surveys including but\n\nnot limited to the informal dispute resolution process described in\n\nSection 1-1914.3 et seq. of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes or the\n\nalternative informal dispute resolution process described in Section\n\n1-1914.11 et seq. of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes for long-term\n\ncare facilities.\n\n3. The State Long-Term Care Ombudsman or designee may appear at\n\nor participate in the informal dispute resolution.\n\n4. No party may be represented by an attorney in the informal\n\ndispute resolution.\n\nI. The informal dispute resolution process is limited to\n\nviolations alleged by the Department in the complaint. If the\n\nimpartial decision-making panel finds that matters not subject to\n\nthe informal dispute resolution are presented, the impartial\n\ndecision-making panel shall strike all documentary evidence related\n\nto or presented for the purpose of disputing the matter not subject\n\nto the informal dispute resolution. The impartial decision-making\n\npanel may not include in the statement of findings described in\n\nsubsection J of this section any matter not subject to the informal\n\ndispute resolution.\n\nJ. Upon the conclusion of all arguments by the parties at the\n\ninformal dispute resolution, the impartial decision-making panel\n\nshall issue a written statement of findings, which shall be provided\n\nto all parties and which shall include:\n\n1. A summary of any alleged violations;\n\n2. A statement of whether the impartial decision-making panel\n\nagrees that the alleged violation or violations occurred;\n\n3. The facts and persuasive arguments that support the finding\n\nof the impartial decision-making panel for each alleged violation;\n\nand\n\n4. A recommendation on appropriate disciplinary action against\n\nthe administrator, if any.\n\nK. If the impartial decision-making panel cannot reach a\n\nmajority decision on the findings of the informal dispute resolution\n\nas described in subsection J of this section, the State Commissioner\n\nof Health may intervene for the purpose of breaking a tie.\n\nL. The Department shall review the findings of the impartial\n\ndecision-making panel and shall take such findings into\n\nconsideration when determining whether to pursue further\n\ndisciplinary action against the administrator.","path":["OK Code","Title 63"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os63.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"1df6e601dc4495970d6d05488044cffe7f59c8732cb43b71d774b25990941ffa","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-63-63-1-1949.6","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-63-63-1-1949.8"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}