Medical Board Investigation

Has the trust of the citizens of California been violated by the Medical Board of California? Have annual licensure fees paid to the Medical Board by California physicians been improperly used? The results of a recent investigation of the Medical Board staff (Jan. 21) suggest the answer to these questions is yes.

The California Medical Assn. is deeply disturbed by the findings of the investigation. If the allegations are true, the trust of the citizens and the physicians of California has been gravely violated.

The purpose of the board is to license competent physicians and discipline those physicians who act inappropriately; to carry out that charge, the physicians of California pay an annual licensure fee.

Our system is based on trust. We--the physicians--have put our trust in the Medical Board to protect the citizens of California from substandard physicians. And the citizens of California trust that a license by the Medical Board means that their physician is a competent practitioner.

The CMA has continually supported license fee increases designed to ensure that investigations and prosecution of bad doctors are adequately staffed. In 1990, the CMA supported SB 2375 by state Sen. Bob Presley (D-Riverside), which took effect on Jan. 1, 1991. The bill gave the Medical Board, for the first time, the ability to immediately suspend the license of any physician who presented an immediate danger to patients. The bill also included other landmark reforms that streamlined the system for proceeding against incompetent physicians and created the Health Care Quality Enforcement Section in the attorney general’s office. This unit of close to 50 prosecutors is devoted solely to medical disciplinary cases.

The CMA does not apologize for protecting the “due process” rights of physicians--be it in the Legislature, the regulatory process, or the courts. However, we do want the Medical Board to have the tools to do the job right.

The board and its staff clearly have the legislative authority to carry out their mission and the resources to do so. We implore the governor, the secretary of consumer services, and the executive director of the Medical Board to pursue these findings with haste and restore our trust in the system.

RICHARD F. CORLIN MD

President, CMA

Sacramento