Your doctor’s on probation: Should you be told? [CA]
Posted over 9 years ago by Nicholas M Perrino
A good reminder that physicians are not infallible, when non-evidence-based concerns are raised regarding the necessity of supervision given the education, practice, and quality provided by PAs, NPs, CNMs, and CRNAs.
Advanced practice providers experience far less litigation than their physician counterparts, and as a percentage of the whole, likely see less probation and revocation of licensure. Thoughts?
"Your doctor overprescribed narcotics. Your doctor was arrested on a hit-and-run DUI. Your doctor is accused of fondling patients. Your doctor's negligent treatment resulted in a patient's death.
In each of those California cases, the doctor is now on probation, ordered by the Medical Board of California.
Should you be told when booking your next appointment?
That's what Consumers Union wants to happen.
Across California, nearly 500 physicians and surgeons are on official probation for a variety of offenses, including substance abuse, medical negligence and sexual misconduct. This group makes up only a sliver – 0.3 percent – of more than 130,720 doctors and surgeons practicing in California. But they can potentially see and treat hundreds of thousands of patients.
Patients are 'unknowingly going to doctors who have had a problem serious enough to put them on probation,' said Lisa McGiffert, director of the Consumers Union Safe Patient Project, which works on different medical safety issues in multiple states.
'Probation means there is enough concern about this doctor that the board wants to keep their eye on (him or her),' McGiffert said. 'We believe that the patients seeing the doctor should be informed so they can make their own decision about whether they want to continue seeing that doctor.'
In a petition scheduled for a hearing by the medical board at its Oct. 29-30 meeting in San Diego, Consumers Union is asking that every California doctor on probation be required to inform their patients – in multiple ways.
First, patients would be told the doctor's probationary status when they call to make a medical appointment. When they show up for an office visit, a written disclosure of the doctor's status would be signed by the patient. The doctor also would be required to maintain a log of each patient's notification. In addition, a notice would be posted in the doctor's office with a brief description of the offenses that led to the probationary status, as well as any restrictions on the doctor's practice.
In most cases, doctors are placed on probation for three to five years, with certain conditions, such as completing professional classes in ethics, drug prescribing and medical recordkeeping. In addition, many are prohibited from supervising physician assistants in their offices. Some must undergo quarterly monitoring by an assigned physician.
The California Medical Association, which represents the state's physicians, opposes mandatory notification.
'CMA is concerned that a requirement like this would put a burden on the physician-patient relationship and take time away from important patient appointments that are already limited,' said CMA spokeswoman Molly Weedn. 'This information is already public and available online and can be accessed by anyone. This is a duplicative burden that will interfere with patient care.'
Consumers Union said it was not aware of any states that currently require doctors to inform patients when they've been placed on probation. California is the first state where Consumers Union is proposing the mandatory patient notification.
The group says the public is behind the idea. According to a 2011 nationwide Consumer Reports survey, about 79 percent of respondents said a doctor whose license is limited, suspended or revoked should not be treating patients until their license is in good standing.
Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, said patients should be able to assume that doctors are professionally licensed and provide a certain level of care. 'If there's a breach of that license and that standard of care, the public has a right to be notified,' said Hill, who leads the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee. 'The current system is not enough.'
'If I'm going to that physician, the fact that he killed a few people, I'd want to know that,' said Hill."