California
California Osteopathic Medical Board Appoints New Executive Director
The Osteopathic Medical Board of California announced the appointment of Mark Ito as its new Executive Director. He has 19 years of experience working for the state's Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) in various capacities, most recently as a budget manager in DCA's budget office where he led a team responsible for maintaining budgets for multiple clients.
Previously, Mr. Ito worked for the state's Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians, leading the board's licensing, examinations, enforcement and administration functions.
Source: Osteopathic Medical Board of California news release, January 30, 2019.
Georgia
Georgia Composite Medical Board Releases 2018 Annual Report
The Georgia Composite Medical Board has released statistics regarding its licensing, disciplinary and other regulatory activities impacting more than 50,000 licensees in various health professions in Georgia.
In fiscal year 2018, the Board issued 4,341 new licenses. The Board also processed 22,962 renewal applications and renewed 19,808 licenses. From applications for licensure, the Board generated $6,731,057 in revenue.
During the year, the Board received 2,320 new complaints, a 3% increase from 2017. Of the allegations, 1,834 were found to be within the jurisdiction of the Board either as a Matter Under Investigation (MUI) or requiring an agent investigation.
The Board issued 70 public sanctions against licensees in 2018 through various dispositions, ranging from reprimands to license suspension. These included 30 public reprimands, 18 private reprimands, 12 voluntary surrenders, and 10 suspensions.
The state's count of active licenses as of December 19, 2018 included 36,483 physicians, 5,137 physician assistants, 5,630 respiratory care professionals, 2,485 residents in training, 892 cosmetic laser practitioners, 270 acupuncturists, 226 pain management clinics, 225 orthotists and prosthetists, and 164 perfusionists.
Source: Georgia Composite Medical Board 2018 Annual Report
Iowa
Iowa Board of Medicine Names New Executive Director
The Iowa Board of Medicine has named Kent M. Nebel, JD, as its new Executive Director. Nebel has served as the Board's Legal Director for nearly 20 years and as its Interim Executive Director since July 2018.
In making its selection, the Board noted Nebel's comprehensive understanding of the Board's operations and the laws and rules governing the Board, and his “longstanding relationships with important stakeholders, including physicians and other health care providers, other state licensing boards, state and federal regulators, local and national professional organizations, legislators, attorneys and the Federation of State Medical Boards.”
Nebel received a bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Iowa and a law degree from Drake University.
Source: Iowa Board of Medicine news release
Ohio
Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program Releases Statistics on Usage
In January 2019, dispensaries in Ohio began selling medical marijuana to patients and caregivers. The Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program (OMMCP) recently released early purchasing and registration statistics in the state related to these dispensaries.
Total sales of medical marijuana in Ohio through March 31, 2019 were $2,884,096 and the total volume of medical marijuana products sold was 382 pounds. To date, there are 13 dispensaries operating in the state.
As of February 28, the OMMCP reported 19,395 registered medical marijuana patients in Ohio.
Source: State Medical Board of Ohio Newsletter, April 2019
Medical Board of Ohio Launches Cultural Competencies Program
The State Medical Board of Ohio has created a brief guide for health care providers to help them be more effective in developing skill in cultural competencies. The document, developed in collaboration with numerous local, state and federal organizations, draws on resources available from across the country to help build cultural competency, including review and input from a diverse group of experts.
The Board's effort to ensure effective services for minorities and individuals with disabilities is aligned with a federal mandate under the National Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) Standards in Health and Health Care. According to the U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health, the CLAS standards establish a blueprint for health care organizations to provide effective, equitable, understandable and respectful quality care and services that are responsive to diverse cultural health beliefs and practices, preferred languages, health literacy and other communication needs.
The Board's new guide identifies specific challenges in building cultural competency, while offering best practices that health care providers can incorporate into their services and additional resources for help.
The Board's list of ten best practices includes steps such as asking patients what they need and how they would like to be referred to, asking patients to let the provider know if he or she ever does something that is offensive in their culture, advocating for hiring cultural specialists and patient navigators who can help patients understand the system and help providers understand the patient, developing accountability systems to check conclusions and assumptions before, during and after treatment, and several other proactive strategies.
Specific sections of the guide include advice for building better cultural competency skills with individuals with disabilities, immigrants and refugees, ethnicities and races, religions and gender minorities. A special section is included for understanding the needs of individuals living in areas of rural Ohio, which in some cases have high rates of poverty.
To learn more about the guide and Ohio's efforts regarding cultural competency, visit: https://www.med.ohio.gov/Portals/0/Resources/SMBO%20Cultural%20Competency%20Guide%20for%20Providers.pdf.
Source: State Medical Board of Ohio news release, February 27, 2019
Oregon
Oregon Medical Board Releases Annual Licensing Statistics
The Oregon Medical Board recently released statistics about its regulatory activities and various demographic and practice characteristics of its licensee workforce for 2018. The Board currently licenses 22,739 individuals, with 20,230 engaged in active practice in a variety of health care professions in the state.
Of its actively practicing licensees, 14,925 are physicians with MD degrees, 1,480 are physicians with DO degrees, 2,134 are physician assistants, 1,486 are acupuncturists, and 205 are podiatric physicians. The Board approved 1,748 new licensees in 2018, including 1,157 new MDs and 199 new DOs.
Of its licensees, 57% are men and 43% are women. The largest age category of licensees is 40–50 years of age (29%), followed by 50–60 years of age (23%) and 30–40 years of age (22%).
Source: Oregon Medical Board Report, Winter 2019
