N.C. Medical Board Is Tougher than Most, but Balanced

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Corridors - News for North Carolina Hospitals

06.01.2008

Christopher P. Brewer

Steven Mansfield Shaber

Tough. The N.C. Medical Board is more likely than most to impose serious discipline on doctors. Of the 51 boards in the U.S., it now ranks 15th. This shows quite a change in recent years, since in 2003 it was ranked 41st in the country.

The N.C. Medical Board is tough, but within the mainstream. It seriously disciplined 4.25 doctors per 1,000. The national median number was 3.12, and the mean was 3.46. Just five states disciplined fewer than 2.0 doctors per 1,000, and only five states disciplined more than 5.0 per 1,000. For this purpose, the term “serious discipline” includes surrender, revocation, suspension, probation, or restriction.

These figures were compiled by the Health Research Group at Public Citizen, the public interest advocacy organization, and they are available online at www.citizen.org/hrg. It represents a three-year rolling average for the years 2005 through 2007.

Balanced. In addition, the N.C. Medical Board is notable for taking a public, but not as serious, type of action in the form of a public letter of concern. A public letter of concern lets the board take public action without having to report the physician to the databank. This is a good option for the board and physicians alike, because it allows the board to balance its concern for both the public and the physician.

Recent Examples. The following are some recent examples of board action against physicians and physician assistants, taken from its report for January and February 2008.

There was one revocation, following the doctor’s conviction of a felony. The doctor did not contest the board’s action.
Two licenses were surrendered voluntarily; the reasons are not reported.
There were 14 licenses suspended. Four suspensions came after hearings, and ten were done by consent order. The suspensions ranged from 30 days to indefinite. Several of the suspensions were stayed, which means that the physician or physician assistant was allowed to continue practicing while on probation, under some sort of restrictions. The reasons for suspensions included sexual relations with a patient, violations of DEA rules, failure to meet the standard of care in one way or another, prescribing errors, fee splitting and cognitive impairment.
Two physicians or physician assistants were placed on probation, two were limited in the scope of their practice, and seven were reprimanded.
Finally, seven physicians received public letters of concern for such things as beginning a wrong-site procedure, misinterpretation of a test, closing a practice without proper notice to patients, and prescribing for family members.

Physical Address: 301 Fayetteville Street, Suite 1900, Raleigh, NC 27601

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06.01.2008