For
some time now, physicians in California have been hearing rumors that
the California Medical Board is getting tougher on its licensees, and
that more physicians have been under state investigation for
wrongdoing than ever before. This has not always been the case.
The
California Medical Board has previously come under scrutiny for
reportedly lax enforcement as previously reported in news articles
from Orange County and through statements made by state legislators.
According to the Orange
County Register:
“In
the past 10 years, the California Medical Board has reinstated the
licenses of doctors who were convicted of sexually assaulting
patients, defrauding insurance companies of millions and hiring hit
men to kill their wives. Although some doctors spent as much time in
prison as they did in medical school, they were most often able to
show rehabilitation and given a second chance to treat patients.”
The
Orange
County Register
examined records of 123 doctors who sought reinstatement in the past
decade after they had their
California
medical license revoked misconduct or negligence. More than
half were able to satisfy a judge and the medical board that they
were fit to practice. Among the 66 who were reinstated, 16 got into
trouble again.
“The
Medical Board of California seldom disciplines physicians or revokes
their medical licenses, and its enforcement time often exceeds state
standards. . .”, the
AP/Ventura
County Star
reports.
Out
of the 6,539 complaints that the board received in fiscal year 2009,
regulators issued 276 formal charges against physicians, according to
the board's latest
annual report.
Less than 2 percent of the complaints led to the loss of medical
licenses, the report found. According
to the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, the state ranks 43rd
among states in taking serious disciplinary action against doctors
such as
California
medical license suspensions.
Studies
of the Medical Board’s disciplinary procedures were initiated in
the Legislature and reported by Senator Liz Figueroa who then
authored legislation, SB 231, which is intended to enhance
enforcement.
"There
are some things that people have done, and I don't care how
remorseful you are, you shouldn't get your license back," said
Julie D'Angelo Fellmeth, a San Diego attorney, in a previous article.
She was hired by the state in 2003 to report on the board's
enforcement practices.
Some
in the medical community have wondered whether this sort of political
heat would in turn result in increased scrutiny of physicians’
practices.
Knowledgeable
sources say that the Medical Board caseload in the in the Medical
Board’s Sacramento district office alone has nearly doubled over
the past year, from 80 referrals for prosecution to over 150. The
Sacramento office handles a geographic area from Bakersfield to
Redding (the Central Valley).
Most
of the increase in investigative workload has been in increased
numbers of DUI’s, Substance Abuse and Sexual Misconduct allegations
against physicians.
But
why the increase? What is driving the uptick in prosecutorial
numbers for the Medical Board? Are doctors committing more
violations or is the Board simply investigating more cases than
before?
The
answer is unclear. It could be due to greater diligence in reporting
by hospitals with respect to Peer Review actions as required by
Business and Professions Code section 805. Or, there may be an
increase in reported judgments or settlements of medical negligence
insurance matters under section 801 (which would probably indicate
greater litigiousness by patients seeking monetary compensation from
doctors). Or, it could be the result of an increase in patient
complaints directly to the Medical Board, a factor that can be
influenced by the Board’s efforts to publicize its regulatory role
and the access of patients to the Board’s complaint process.
Patient
complaints can be filed with the Board anonymously or with the
patient named, and each case receives review by Board headquarters
staff for possible referral to investigation. When the latter
occurs, a medical consultant physician reviews the matter for
possible referral to a field office where Medical Board investigators
take over the matter under direction from the Attorney General’s
Office.
Whatever
the reason for the increase in Medical Board enforcement cases,
physicians should be particularly aware that DUI’s, Substance
Abuse, and Sexual Misconduct will likely result in a Board
investigation and possible Accusation. The Board has also been known
to subpoena blood samples from DUI screens at the local level and
conduct more thorough toxicology screens than are conducted by local
law enforcement, resulting in substance abuse charges against a
physician that might have otherwise slipped through a simple DUI
matter.
All of this should be a word of caution
to physicians to avoid putting themselves at risk of disciplinary
action, which can have dire professional consequences such as a
California
medical license suspension or revocation.
Article Source: http://www.compensationsecrets.co.uk/