State Member Board Briefs

As a result of recently passed legislation in Idaho, the Idaho State Board of Medicine is now housed within the Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing (IDOPL). The Division is responsible for administering licenses to dozens of professions and businesses in Idaho, working from three sections: Building, Construction and Real Estate; Occupational Licenses; and Health Professions. The Board of Medicine is in the Health Professions section, along with the state’s boards of Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmacy, Veterinary Medicine, Optometry and Podiatry, among others.

During the state’s 2020 legislative session, Idaho House Bill 318 changed the Idaho Bureau of Occupational Licensing to IDOPL. Last June, Governor Brad Little issued Executive Order 2020– 10, shrinking the size of state government by consolidating 11 separate agencies into IDOPL.

According to the Board of Medicine, the move will create efficiencies, with a central office, the consolidation of information technology (IT), and enhanced collaboration among licensing teams, medical investigators and administrative staff.

All of the state’s licensing boards will be moved to one location during the Summer of 2021 to enhance customer service, streamline operations and create consistency among agencies.

Source: The Report, Idaho State Board of Medicine, Fall 2020

Prescribers in Idaho are now required to check the state’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP). During the 2020 Legislative Session, Idaho Senate Bill 1348 was passed, requiring all prescribers to review the previous 12 months of a patient’s history in the PDMP prior to issuing a prescription for an opioid analgesic or benzodiazepine listed in schedules II–IV for outpatient use.

The Idaho Board of Pharmacy has initiated statewide integration to create PDMP access in electronic health records. According to the Idaho State Board of Medicine, “providers and health care facilities have expressed satisfaction with the ease and convenience of being able to access the PDMP in this way.” There is no charge to providers or facilities to connect with the PDMP.

Source: The Report, Idaho State Board of Medicine, Fall 2020

On October 28, 2020, Louisiana Governor John Edwards signed into law Senate Bill 27, authorizing the state to become the 32nd jurisdiction to join the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact.

The Compact, launched in 2015, now includes 30 states, the District of Columbia and the Territory of Guam as member jurisdictions. Legislation is currently pending in New York, New Jersey and Ohio.

The Compact, established to streamline licensure for physicians who want to practice in multiple states, reached a major milestone last year when the 10,000th medical license was issued using its process.

Source: IMLCC news release, October 30, 2020

The North Carolina Medical Board (NCMB) has created several new resources to help patients understand what to expect during a physical examination and learn to recognize red flags and signs of possible sexual misconduct by a medical professional.

Provided online in the form of downloadable PDF documents, the three resources include:

• The Power of Touch, which explains the four main hands-on techniques physicians and other medical providers use when conducting physical examinations.

• Undergoing a Physical Examination: Your Rights, which covers what to expect during a physical examination, including the patient’s right to dress and undress privately and to request that a chaperone be present during the exam.

• Know the Signs of Sexual Misconduct, which is intended to help patients recognize behaviors that are inappropriate and unacceptable, or that could signal a provider is “grooming” a patient for possible sexual contact.

To view the documents, please visit www.ncmedboard.org.

Source: North Carolina Medical Board website announcement, October 29, 2021

The State Medical Board of Ohio is warning its licensees that they should be on alert for a scam that has resurfaced, targeting Ohio prescribers. Scammers have been calling and faxing prescribers, stating they have been investigated for drug trafficking by the U.S. Department of Justice and their licenses have been suspended effective immediately.

During one reported incident, the scammers called a physician’s office, faxed the physician a fraudulent document using the State Medical Board of Ohio’s logo, and used spoofing technology so it appeared they were legitimately calling from the Board’s office.

The Board had posted information at its website helping licensees know how to identify a legitimate investigation, how to verify if the caller is from the Board and how to file a complaint if they are contacted by a scammer.

The State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy has also reported an email “phishing” scam that has been sent to its licensees. The sender of the email claims to represent the Board of Pharmacy and utilizes a website that mimics the Board’s site in an additional step to deceive licensees.

Source: State Medical Board of Ohio eNews, December 2020

The Oregon Medical Board (OMB) is undertaking a rulemaking to implement cultural competency training for health care professionals that was recently mandated by the Oregon Legislature.

Oregon’s HB 2011 legislation stipulates that, beginning July 1, 2021, OMB licensees must complete cultural competency continuing education as a condition of licensure.

All Oregon physicians, physician assistants, and acupuncturists whose license is at a practicing status must meet the new requirement. Licensees must complete an average of at least one hour of cultural competency education per year during an audit period, which OMB estimates will be every four years for most licensees. Required hours will be based on the number of years licensed during the audit period: For example, a licensee who has been licensed for 3.5 years during the audit period will be required to obtain four hours of cultural competency education. Hours may be obtained at any time during the audit period, meaning that a licensee needing to fulfill four hours of CME could opt for one four-hour experience, or four one-hour courses — as long as they were completed within the prescribed period.

A wide array of courses or educational experiences will be allowed, including courses delivered in-person or electronically, experiential or service learning, cultural or linguistic immersion, volunteering in a rural clinic, completing an employer’s cultural competency training, attending an event with members of an underserved community to discuss health care access issues, or courses approved by the Oregon Health Authority.

Source: Oregon Medical Board Report, Fall 2020