SB 71: "An Act relating to licensure by the State Medical Board."
00SENATE BILL NO. 71 01 "An Act relating to licensure by the State Medical Board." 02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03 * Section 1. AS 08.64.200(a) is amended to read: 04 (a) Except for foreign medical graduates as specified in AS 08.64.225, each 05 physician applicant shall 06 (1) submit a certificate of graduation from a legally chartered medical 07 school accredited by the Association of American Medical Colleges and the Council 08 on Medical Education of the American Medical Association; 09 (2) submit a certificate from a recognized hospital certifying that the 10 applicant has satisfactorily performed the duties of resident physician or intern for a 11 period of 12 (A) one year if the applicant graduated from medical school 13 before January 1, 1989; and 14 (B) two years if the applicant graduated from medical school
01 on or after January 1, 1989 ; 02 (3) submit a list of negotiated settlements or judgments in claims or 03 civil actions alleging medical malpractice against the applicant, including an 04 explanation of the basis for each claim or action; and 05 (4) not have a license to practice medicine in another state, province, 06 or territory which is currently suspended or revoked for disciplinary reasons [; AND 07 (5) BE A CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES OR BE LAWFULLY 08 ADMITTED FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE]. 09 * Sec. 2. AS 08.64.205 is amended to read: 10 Sec. 08.64.205. Qualifications for Osteopath Applicants. Each osteopath 11 applicant shall meet the qualifications prescribed in AS 08.64.200(a)(3) and (4) 12 [AS 08.64.200(a)(3) - (5)] and shall 13 (1) submit a certificate of graduation from the legally chartered school 14 of osteopathy approved by the board; 15 (2) submit a certificate from a hospital approved by the American 16 Medical Association or the American Osteopathic Association that [WHICH] certifies 17 that the osteopath has satisfactorily completed and performed the duties of intern or 18 resident physician for 19 (A) one year if the applicant graduated from a school of 20 osteopathy before January 1, 1989; or 21 (B) two years if the applicant graduated from a school of 22 osteopathy on or after January 1, 1989 ; 23 (3) take the examination required by AS 08.64.210 or be certified to 24 practice by the National Board of Examiners for Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons. 25 * Sec. 3. AS 08.64.225 is amended to read: 26 Sec. 08.64.225. Foreign medical graduates. Applicants who are graduates 27 of medical colleges not accredited by the Association of American Medical Colleges 28 and the Council on Medical Education of the American Medical Association shall 29 (1) [MUST] meet the requirements of AS 08.64.200(a)(3) and (4) 30 [AS 08.64.200(a)(2) - (5)] and 08.64.255 ; 31 (2) have successfully completed three years of post-graduate
01 training as evidenced by a certificate of completion of the first year of post- 02 graduate training from the facility where the applicant completed the first year of 03 internship or residency and a certificate of successful completion of two additional years 04 of post-graduate training at a recognized hospital; [,] and 05 (3) [MUST] have passed examinations as specified by the board in 06 regulations [OR BE LICENSED BY EXAMINATION IN ANOTHER STATE OR 07 TERRITORY OF THE UNITED STATES OR PROVINCE OR TERRITORY OF 08 CANADA]. 09 * Sec. 4. AS 08.64.275(a) is amended to read: 10 (a) A member of the board or its executive secretary may grant a temporary 11 permit to a physician or osteopath for the purpose of substituting for another physician 12 or osteopath licensed in this state. The permit is valid for 60 consecutive days. If 13 circumstances warrant, an extension of the permit may be granted by the board or its 14 designee . 15 * Sec. 5. AS 08.64.275(b) is amended to read: 16 (b) A physician applying under (a) of this section shall pay the required fee 17 and shall meet the requirements of AS 08.64.279 and the requirements of either 18 AS 08.64.200 or 08.64.225 [AND 08.64.279]. In addition, the physician shall submit 19 evidence of holding a license to practice medicine in a state or territory of the United 20 States or in a province or territory of Canada. 21 * Sec. 6. AS 08.64.312(b) is amended to read: 22 (b) Before a license may be renewed, the licensee shall submit evidence to the 23 board or its designee that continuing education requirements prescribed by regulations 24 adopted by the board have been met. 25 * Sec. 7. AS 08.64.312(c) is amended to read: 26 (c) The board or its designee may exempt a physician from the requirements 27 of (b) of this section upon an application by the physician giving evidence satisfactory 28 to the board or its designee that the physician is unable to comply with the 29 requirements because of extenuating circumstances. However, a person may not be 30 exempted from more than 15 hours of continuing education in a five-year period. 31 * Sec. 8. AS 08.64.326(a) is amended to read:
01 (a) The board may impose a sanction if the board finds after a hearing that a 02 licensee 03 (1) secured a license through deceit, fraud, or intentional 04 misrepresentation; 05 (2) engaged in deceit, fraud, or intentional misrepresentation while 06 providing professional services or engaging in professional activities; 07 (3) advertised professional services in a false or misleading manner; 08 (4) has been convicted, including conviction based on a guilty plea or 09 plea of nolo contendere, of 10 (A) a felony , a misdemeanor in another jurisdiction with 11 elements similar to a felony in this jurisdiction, or a misdemeanor in this 12 or another jurisdiction [OTHER CRIME] if the misdemeanor [FELONY OR 13 OTHER CRIME] is substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or 14 duties of the licensee; or 15 (B) a crime involving the unlawful procurement, sale, 16 prescription, or dispensing of drugs; 17 (5) has procured, sold, prescribed, or dispensed drugs in violation of 18 a law [,] regardless of whether there has been a criminal action; 19 (6) intentionally or negligently permitted the performance of patient 20 care by persons under the licensee's supervision that does not conform to minimum 21 professional standards even if the patient was not injured; 22 (7) failed to comply with this chapter, a regulation adopted under this 23 chapter, or an order of the board; 24 (8) has demonstrated 25 (A) professional incompetence, gross negligence, or repeated 26 negligent conduct; the board may not base a finding of professional 27 incompetence solely on the basis that a licensee's practice is unconventional or 28 experimental in the absence of demonstrable physical harm to a patient; 29 (B) addiction to, severe dependency on, or habitual overuse of 30 alcohol or other drugs that impairs the licensee's ability to practice safely; 31 (C) unfitness because of physical or mental disability;
01 (9) engaged in unprofessional conduct, in sexual misconduct, or in lewd 02 or immoral conduct in connection with the delivery of professional services to patients; 03 in this paragraph, "sexual misconduct" includes sexual contact, as defined by the board 04 in regulations adopted under this chapter, or attempted sexual contact with a patient 05 outside the scope of generally accepted methods of examination or treatment of the 06 patient, regardless of the patient's consent or lack of consent, during the term of the 07 physician-patient relationship, as defined by the board in regulations adopted under this 08 chapter, unless the patient was the licensee's spouse at the time of the contact or, 09 immediately preceding the physician-patient relationship, was in a dating, courtship , 10 or engagement relationship with the licensee; 11 (10) has violated AS 18.16.010; 12 (11) has violated any code of ethics adopted by regulation by the board; 13 (12) has denied care or treatment to a patient or person seeking 14 assistance from the physician if the only reason for the denial is the failure or refusal 15 of the patient to agree to arbitrate as provided in AS 09.55.535(a); or 16 (13) has had a license or certificate to practice medicine in another state 17 or territory of the United States, or a province or territory of Canada, denied, 18 suspended , [OR] revoked , surrendered while under investigation for an alleged 19 violation, restricted, limited, conditioned, or placed on probation unless the denial, 20 suspension , [OR] revocation , or other action was caused by the failure of the licensee 21 to pay fees to that state, territory, or province. 22 * Sec. 9. APPLICABILITY. (a) AS 08.64.200, as amended by sec. 1 of this Act; 23 AS 08.64.205, as amended by sec. 2 of this Act; AS 08.64.225, as amended by sec. 3 of this 24 Act, and AS 08.64.275(b), as amended by sec. 5 of this Act, apply to applications submitted 25 on or after the effective date of this Act. 26 (b) AS 08.64.326(a), as amended by sec. 8 of this Act, applies to crimes and licensing 27 actions that occurred before, on, or after the effective date of this Act, when AS 08.64.326 is 28 implemented under AS 08.64.240(b) with respect to granting or denying an initial license to 29 an applicant under AS 08.64. 30 (c) AS 08.64.326(a), as amended by sec. 8 of this Act, applies to crimes and licensing 31 actions that occur on or after the effective date of this Act, when AS 08.64.326 is
01 implemented with respect to a disciplinary proceeding against a person licensed under 02 AS 08.64 before the effective date of this Act.