North Carolina
NCMB Approves Emergency Licensure Policy in Response to Hurricane Florence
To address anticipated medical issues during the recent Hurricane Florence crisis, the North Carolina Medical Board (NCMB) approved an emergency policy that allowed physicians, physician assistants and certain other medical professionals not currently licensed in North Carolina to practice in the state during a declared state of emergency.
The emergency measures were intended to get needed medical expertise into affected North Carolina communities as quickly as possible, utilizing two pathways to temporary licensure.
First, physicians and physician assistants who hold full, unrestricted licenses in their home states and are currently credentialed and in good standing with a hospital were allowed to report to any licensed North Carolina hospital. The receiving hospitals were authorized to check the credentials of the clinician reporting for duty and put the clinician to work where needed. This hospital-to-hospital credentialing method is modeled on a practice developed in Texas to deal with tremendous need for medical services in the wake of Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
Second, clinicians not affiliated with a hospital in their home states were allowed to submit emergency license applications online via NCMB's website. An emergency disaster license permits the clinician to practice in North Carolina for a period of 30 days, or until the state of emergency is officially declared over. Emergency licenses are available for physicians, physician assistants, licensed perfusionists and anesthesiology assistants and are offered at no cost.
Source: North Carolina Medical Board website announcement, Sept. 12, 2018
Ohio
Ohio Board Releases Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2018
The State Medical Board of Ohio has released statistics and background highlighting its various activities over the last fiscal year, including new data on actively-practicing licensees in the state.
In total, the Board licensed 86,327 professionals in a variety of health-related occupations in the last fiscal year, including 42,265 allopathic physicians, 6,676 osteopathic physicians and 5,998 physicians in training. The second and third most numerous licensed practitioners in Ohio, after physicians, are massage therapists (12,090) and respiratory care professionals (8,633). Other major licensee categories include dietitians (4,275) and physician assistants (3,706).
The Board issued new licenses to 3,107 physicians last year (including podiatric physicians). The second and third highest totals of new licenses granted last year were for massage therapists (517) and physician assistants (475). The Board issued 20,040 license renewals for practicing physicians, 7,679 for respiratory care professionals, 5,383 for massage therapists and cosmetic therapists, 3,961 for dieticians and 3,429 for physician assistants.
The Board imposed 144 disciplinary sanctions and issued 67 citations last year. Of the Board actions taken, 38 were license revocations, 44 for various levels of license suspension, and 10 for license surrenders or retirements. The Board issued 12 reprimands and 30 probations. The top reasons for Board actions last year were impairment, representing 32% of cases, followed by prescribing issues (27%), actions by other boards or agencies (10%), criminal acts/convictions (8%) and sexual misconduct (7%). The Board's compliance staff monitored 300 licensees on probation over the last fiscal year.
Other highlights noted by the Board included passage of a measure that allowed reduction of physician licensure fees from $335 to $305 and the adoption of new processes for the distribution of certificates to prescribe medical marijuana in Ohio.
Source: State Medical Board of Ohio 2018 Annual Report
Oregon
Oregon Medical Board Executive Director Kathleen Haley Retires
The Oregon Medical Board has announced the retirement of Kathleen Haley, JD, who led the Board for 24 years as its Executive Director.
In a statement, the Board said that Ms. Haley had earned “the profound respect of health care professionals and policy makers in Oregon as well as nationally and internationally” during her tenure.
During her time with the Board, Ms. Haley served in a variety of leadership roles within the medical regulatory community, including serving on the Board of Directors of both the Federation of State Medical Boards and Administrators in Medicine. In 2016 the Citizens Advocacy Center of Washington, DC, awarded her the prestigious Ben Shimberg Public Service Award. She also was a frequent lecturer at Oregon's two medical schools, and at hospitals and conferences in Oregon, around the country and at gatherings that included international medical regulators.
“Ms. Haley's enduring legacy of exceptional leadership will continue to inspire Board members and staff to carry on the Board's distinguished work,” said Oregon Medical Board Chair K. Dean Gubler, DO.
Nicole Krishnaswami, JD, was appointed the Board's Interim Executive Director following the announcement of Ms. Haley's retirement.
Source: Oregon Medical Board Report, Summer 2018
Rhode Island
AAFP, Rhode Island Medical Board Partner on New CME Benefit
In an effort to reduce paperwork burdens on physicians, the Rhode Island Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) have created a new system in which AAFP members will be excluded from the Board's biennial continuing medical education (CME) audit for license renewals.
Starting this year, AAFP members holding a Rhode Island medical license will not be audited, as the CME data of those that are compliant with CME requirements will be securely reported directly to the Rhode Island Board by AAFP.
“We recognize any correspondence from a licensing board to a physician is stressful, even if the physician is compliant,” said the Rhode Island Board's chief administrative officer, James McDonald, MD, MPH. “The specialty board is only reporting those who are compliant. By eliminating physicians we know to be compliant by the AAFP, we are not auditing physicians who do not need to be audited.”
This approach is useful not only to Rhode Island family physicians but also to the state, McDonald added.
“Since we are still auditing five percent of all (non-AAFP member) licensees, we are more efficiently auditing our licensee population,” McDonald said. “This is a benefit for physicians who maintain certification and a benefit for us, a licensing board.”
Source: AAFP News, Sept. 11, 2018
