: MEDICAL EXAMINING BOARD MODEL

[Guest guest]

October 3, 2003

2003-R-0714

MEDICAL EXAMINING BOARD MODEL

By: Saul Spigel, Chief Analyst

You asked us to compare Connecticut’s approach to physician discipline with

a national model.

SUMMARY

The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB), the national umbrella

organization of 65 state and territorial medical and osteopathic examining

boards,

adopted its 10th edition of a Guide to the Essentials of a Modern Medical

Practice Act in 2003. It (and its companion piece, Elements of a Modern State

Medical Board, 1998) covers medical board composition, powers and duties, and

funding; physician examination and licensure; disciplinary procedures and

actions; and confidentiality, among other issues.

The FSMB model is based on the presumption of an accountable board,

regardless of the state’s administrative structure, but its recommendations

appear to

presume an independent board. In Connecticut, however, the Department of

Public Health (DPH) performs most of the functions related to physician

licensure and discipline. The Medical Examining Board is not fiscally

independent,

and its principal role is to advise DPH in its licensure-related tasks and make

final disciplinary decisions based on findings and recommendations from

hearing panels composed of board members and others. (A description of

Connecticut

’s disciplinary process, OLR report _97-R-0891_

(http://prdbasis.cga.state.ct.us/BASIS/TSRPTHP/LIN1/RPT/DDW?W%3DSHORT_NAME+PH+IS\

+%2797-R-0891%27+ORDER+BY+%

24RANK/Descend%26M%3D1%26K%3D97RPT00891.RPT%3B1%26R%3DY%26U%3D1%26DBVL%3D/BASI

S/TSRPTHP/LIN1/RPT/2%2C/BASIS/TSSUMHP/LIN1/SUM/0) , is attached. )

The tables below briefly outline the elements of the model act dealing with

the board’s role, particularly concerning physician discipline, and compares

them to the Connecticut statutes (CGS §§ 19a-8 to –17 and 20-8a to –13i)

that provide the basis for this state’s system for disciplining doctors.

Among

the principal differences they show between the model act and Connecticut law

are that the model calls for the board to:

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