(1) A mediation panel shall be composed of 5 voting members, 3 of whom shall be licensed attorneys, 1 of whom shall be a licensed or registered health care provider selected by the defendant or defendants and 1 of whom shall be a licensed or registered health care provider selected by the plaintiff or plaintiffs. If a defendant is a specialist, the health care provider members of the panel shall specialize in the same or a related, relevant area of health care as the defendant.

  (2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (1), the procedure for selecting mediation panel members and their qualifications shall be as prescribed by the Michigan court rules or local court rules.

  (3) A judge may be selected as a member of a mediation panel, but may not preside at the trial of any action in which he or she served as a mediator.

  (4) The grounds for disqualification of a mediator are the same as that provided in the Michigan court rules for the disqualification of a judge.