State Member Board Briefs

Colorado Board Adopts New Opioid Policy

The Colorado Medical Board has adopted a new policy for the Prescribing and Dispensing of Opioids, part of a collaborative effort with the state's Quad-Regulator Boards to reduce prescription drug abuse and misuse. The Quad-Regulator Boards include the Colorado Medical Board, the Colorado State Board of Nursing, the Colorado Board of Pharmacy, and the Colorado State Board of Dental Examiners, facilitated by the Nurse-Physician Advisory Task Force for Colorado Healthcare (NPATCH). Other boards that license prescribers of controlled substances also adopted the policy, including the State Board of Optometry and the Colorado Podiatry Board.

Source: Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies website, December 12, 2014

Iowa Board Votes to Establish Standards for Physicians Who Use Telemedicine

The Iowa Board of Medicine recently initiated a rule-making process to establish standards of practice for physicians who use telemedicine in their medical practices.

The Board approved a notice of intended action to establish a rule that defines telemedicine, a valid physician-patient relationship, informed consent, and technology requirements for physicians who use electronic communications, information technology or other means of interaction between a physician in one location and a patient in another.

The rule requires out-of-state physicians to have a valid Iowa medical license if they diagnose and treat patients located in Iowa.

The rule's preamble notes that telemedicine is “a useful tool that, if applied appropriately, can provide important benefits to patients.”

Source: Iowa Board of Medicine news release, October 10, 2014

Kentucky Board Releases Annual Report Information

The Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure recently released its 2014 Annual Report outlining its activities for the past fiscal year.

In the category of Physician Renewals and Applications, Kentucky registered 11,010 licensees in state, including 560 retired physicians. It registered 5,535 out-of-state licensees.

Kentucky provided 1,286 applications for initial licensure over the last year, eventually issuing 989 new medical licenses. It issued 114 new osteopathic licenses.

The state issued 666 temporary permits and 250 residency training licenses.

Kentucky has 1,083 actively licensed physician assistants, and issued 99 new licenses over the last year. It has 75 actively licensed acupuncturists and issued 8 new licenses over the last year.

A copy of the full report is available at http://kbml.ky.gov/board/Pages/Annual-Report.aspx.

Source: Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure 2014 Annual Report

New Executive Director Appointed by Maryland Board of Physicians

Christine A. Farrelly has been appointed Executive Director of the Maryland Board of Physicians.

Farrelly has been engaged in regulatory matters in health care in the public and private sectors since 1994, and she has served at the Maryland Board of Physicians since 2007, most recently as Manager of the Compliance Unit and Deputy Director. Farrelly was recognized in 2014 by Maryland's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene with an award for exceptional performance.

Source: Maryland Board of Physicians Newsletter, Fall 2014

New Executive Director Takes Helm at Minnesota Board

Ruth Martinez, MA, recently assumed the position of Executive Director of the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice. During her career with the Board of Medical Practice, which spans more than 25 years, Martinez has been actively involved with other agencies in examining patient safety efforts in Minnesota and across the nation.

Martinez joined the Board of Medical Practice in 1988 and was involved in the development of Minnesota's Health Professional Services Program (HPSP), which was implemented in 1994. As Supervisor of the Complaint Review Unit for 12 years, she worked closely with the board and HPSP to ensure appropriate monitoring of the board's regulated professionals.

Source: FSMB Newsline, Fall 2014

North Carolina Medical Board Adopts New Position Statement on Child Maltreatment

At its September meeting, the North Carolina Medical Board (NCMB) adopted a new position statement on the licensee obligation to recognize and report suspected child abuse and neglect. The position statement includes information on how to access free online training in recognizing and appropriately responding to suspected child maltreatment.

The Board's new statement reads:

“It is the position of the North Carolina Medical Board that child maltreatment (abuse and neglect) presents a significant risk to the health and well-being of North Carolinians. The Board's licensees have a legal responsibility to report as soon as practicable ‘cases involving recurrent illness or serious physical injury to any child under the age of 18 years where the illness or injury appears, in the physician's professional judgment, to be the result of non-accidental trauma.’ [N.C.G.S. § 90-21.20(c1).] This legal and ethical obligation requires a licensee to recognize the signs, symptoms, and etiology of child maltreatment. Licensees are also encouraged to learn how to refer children for expert medical evaluations of possible maltreatment.”

The statement's defined obligation specific to physicians is in addition to the legal requirement that any person or institution in North Carolina “who has cause to suspect that any juvenile is abused, neglected, or dependent…or has died as the result of maltreatment, shall report the case of that juvenile to the director of the department of social services in the county where the juvenile resides or is found.”

Source: North Carolina Medical Board website, Oct. 17, 2014

North Carolina Medical Board Annual Report Information Released

The North Carolina Medical Board provided service to a total of 42,214 licensees in the state in 2013, according to its 2014 Annual Report. Of these, 32,759 were medical licensees (MDs), 5,088 were physician assistants (PAs), 1,624 were osteopathic licensees (DOs), and 2,582 were resident physicians. The state also licensed 149 perfusionists and 12 anesthesiology assistants. Seventy five percent of its licensees are located in-state.

North Carolina issued 2,024 new medical licenses and 214 new osteopathic licenses in 2013.

By gender, 10,315 of North Carolina's DOs and MDs are female, and 24,068 are male.

According to the report, the top five causes of public actions taken against licenses in 2013 were:

• Incompetence/quality of care (67 cases)

• Prescribing issues (39 cases)

• Alcohol/substance abuse (28 cases)

• Other unprofessional/unethical conduct (16 cases)

• False/deceptive representation (15 cases)

Source: North Carolina Medical Board 2014 Annual Report

State Medical Board of Ohio Names Executive Director

Anthony Groeber has been named Executive Director of the State Medical Board of Ohio. Groeber comes to the Medical Board from the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals, where he served as Executive Director. He holds BS/BA degrees from Ohio University. He earned his MBA from the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University.

The State Medical Board of Ohio regulates more than 67,000 licensees, including allopathic physicians, osteopathic physicians, podiatric physicians, physician assistants, massage therapists, cosmetic therapists, anesthesiologist assistants, radiologist assistants, acupuncturists, oriental medicine practitioners and genetic counselors.

Source: State Medical Board of Ohio news release, Nov. 6, 2014

New Executive Director of Tennessee Licensing Boards Named

Maegan Carr Martin, JD, has been named the Executive Director of the Board of Medical Examiners and the Board of Osteopathic Examination. Ms. Martin fills the vacancy created by the promotion of Rosemarie Otto to Director of Health Related Boards.

Martin left private legal practice to join the Department of Health and has previous health regulatory and policy experience, having worked as the State Legislative and Policy Manager for the Federation of State Medical Boards' Washington, D.C. Office.

Source: Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners Newsletter, Fall 2014 issue

Tennessee Regulators Adopt New Policy for Outpatient Treatment of Non-Malignant Pain

The Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners, Board of Osteopathic Examination and the Committee on Physician Assistants have independently adopted as policy the “Tennessee Clinical Guidelines for Outpatient Management of Non-Malignant Pain.”

The Guidelines, which were developed by a multi-disciplinary steering committee, seek to define the appropriate treatment of chronic pain and are an integral part of a state-wide initiative to reduce unintentional overdose deaths resulting from controlled substance misuse and abuse and the number of babies born dependent to drugs who suffer from Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS).

Finalization of the Guidelines coincides with legislation requiring all DEA license holders to complete two hours of continuing education in prescribing practices that must include instruction in the Guidelines.

Source: Tennessee Department of Health website, Dec. 12, 2014