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Sunday, April 14, 2013

ALEC Legislation - OK for MD's To Do Harm


Would you go to an orthopedic surgeon that wasn’t board certified?
Would you go to a plastic surgeon that wasn’t Board certified?
Would you go to a podiatrist that wasn’t Board certified?
Would you take your kids to a pediatrician that wasn’t Board certified?
Would you take your kids to a heart surgeon that wasn’t Board certified?

Good questions.



Each state in the U.S. has a physician licensing system in place, and in order to practice in that state, a doctor must be licensed in that state. The requirements for licensure vary, but those requirements are not as stringent as those for certification boards. Doctors who are ABMS and AOA board-certified are all licensed. But doctors who are licensed are not necessarily members of an ABMS or AOA member board.

 Further, they research a potential doctor's board certification to learn more about what competencies they can expect from that practitioner.

Wise patients understand the background and importance of board certification for medical specialties. 


If you aren’t sure what Board certification means – read the following paragraphs:
  
Read this:
PROMOTING EXCELLENCE IN MEDICAL PRACTICE, LICENSURE AND REGULATION
The Federation of State MedicalBoards (FSMB) is a national non-profit organization representing the 70 medical and osteopathic boards of the United States and its territories. The FSMB leads by promoting excellence in medical practice, licensure, and regulation as the national resource and voice on behalf of state medical and osteopathic boards in their protection of the public.
Sounds good – eh?

Then take a peak at this from the:
Public / Patients
What is Family Medicine?
When you choose a doctor who is Board Certified, you can be confident he or she meets nationally recognized standards for education, knowledge, experience and skills to provide high quality care in a specific medical specialty. Board Certification goes above and beyond basic medical licensure.

What is Board Certification?

To practice medicine in the United States, doctors must be licensed by the states in which they work. However, being licensed does not indicate whether a doctor is qualified to practice in a specific medical specialty. One of the best ways to know if your doctor has the qualifications to provide care in a specialty is to find out if he or she is Board Certified and participating in activities to stay up-to-date with the latest advances in medicine and patient care.

Board Certified family physicians voluntarily meet additional standards beyond basic licensing. They demonstrate their expertise by earning Board Certification through the ABFM. Before a doctor can become Board Certified, each must complete: four years of premedical education in a college or university; a course of study leading to an MD or DO degree from a qualified medical school and three years of full-time experience in an accredited residency training program.

Each board certified family physician earns initial Board Certification by passing a written examination created and administered by the American Board of Family Medicine. This is just the first step in the career-long learning and assessment process required by the rigorous ABFM Maintenance of Certification for Family Physicians (MC-FP) program. To maintain Board Certification, a family physician must actively keep pace with the latest advances in his or her specialty and demonstrate best practices for patient safety, communications and ethics.

Board certification is a meaningful indicator that a doctor has the knowledge, experience and skills necessary to provide high-quality patient care. Although board certification is voluntary, ABFM certification is recognized throughout the world as signifying excellence in the practice of Family Medicine.
Sounds good – eh?


ABFM Maintenance of Certification for Family Physicians

ABFM MC-FP, the Maintenance of Certification for Family Physicians process provided by the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM), is the means by which the ABFM continually assesses Diplomates. The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), sensing growing and repeated threats from outside the medical field, determined that ABMS specialists within every discipline should be required to meet the highest standards of accountability. In response, the ABMS designed a process called Maintenance of Certification, and each specialty board agreed to adhere to a set structure in developing their individual programs.

The following will provide a brief description of each component (for additional information on each component, follow the links on the left):

In the ABFM MC-FP program, each certified Diplomate must successfully complete a series of modules in separate 3-year windows, called "stages." Completing these requirements in a timely manner allows the Diplomate to maintain his or her certification status.
Sounds appropriate and reasonable - right?

All "medical boards" recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties or the American Osteopathic Association require their members to have completed a "residency" program of training (at least 3 years after medical school), be knowledgeable of current medical standards and maintain the highest standards of ethics.

Triad Medicine and Pediatric Associates, PLLC has medical providers that maintain the current medical standards and ethical requirements of the following nationally-recognized medical specialty boards:
bullet      
The American Board of Family Medicine
The American Board of Pediatrics
The American Board of Internal Medicine
The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants
That would make me feel more confident about going into their office.

Sounds good, eh?
Sound appropriate, right?
Makes you feel more confident about going into their office – right?

Well - - - - it depends on who you talk with.

Association of American Physicians and Surgeons ("founded in 1943 to guard against the intrusion of government into the practice of medicine"[17])[5]

Here’s a few snips from something on their webpage (my emphasis):
Model Legislation on Physician Relicensing
Jul 26, 2012

Background information
Advances in healthcare have required physicians to remain current in their own specialty on a continuing basis. Physicians generally remain current in their knowledge base by attending seminars, reading journals, discussions with other physicians, and various other endeavors which are designed to continually improve a physician’s delivery of medical care. Many states require that a certain number of continuing medical education (CME) hours be obtained on a yearly basis in order to maintain a license to practice medicine. Nobody argues against the importance of continuing medical education. Most physicians accomplish this on their own, with or without legislation mandating certain CME hours. However, recent moves on the part of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) and the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) are designed to go far beyond the continuing medical education requirements currently in place in many states.
Oh, my - - - - - -
Maybe they do – maybe they don’t  - -  wouldn’t want one that hasn’t cutting into me and taking out or repairing my organs.
Who is watching?  Some state board that ALEC model legislation is trying to get rid of as being too expensive or not needed?

Physicians are generally granted state medical licenses based upon successfully passing medical school and internship examinations. Beyond that, most physicians aspire to obtain specialty board certification. These various specialty boards belong to a parent organization, the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), which has become increasingly active in lobbying for recertification examinations to be mandatory on a periodic basis throughout a physician’s career. While initial board certification is an important step in a physician’s development, recertification on a periodic basis is not only unnecessary, but there is no evidence that such recertification actually improves the delivery of healthcare.
recertification on a periodic basis is not only unnecessary,
oh, my - - - - -
Just what I want – some doctor that graduated ten years ago – using some technique on me that was invented two years ago – that he/she has no board certified training in using.

Yeh – like I’m suppose to trust that the guy/gal doc ripping open my chest just happened to get more education on the latest procedure they are doing on me.
Yeh – like I’m suppose to trust that the for profit hospital monitoring the docs that are ripping open my chest made sure they got more education on the latest procedure they are doing on me.

Evidence of past lawsuits – shows us this doesn’t happen – kinda like the fox guarding the financial hen house.

And like this organization belonging to ALEC has not “become increasingly active in lobbying for recertification examinations”   - - - hmmmmmmmmm

The state medical boards all belong to the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB). The state medical boards exact increasing amounts from physicians for medical licensing fees, and a portion of these licensure fees are then sent to the FSMB, which in turn lobbies for increased bureaucratic requirements in order for physicians to maintain their state licenses.
Oops – those poor doctors.  Having to pay out fees to keep their certifications and stay in business.
State agencies that have the audacity to look out for the patients that are being cut into – how dare them!.
Not only to the state – which god forbid, gives part of that money to FSMB – but to other

It seems as if the FSMB was guided by a desire to link maintenance of licensure (MOL) to maintenance and certification (MOC). The stated goals were to support a commitment to lifelong learning, to mandate that state medical boards establish MOL requirements, and to create a system whereby a physician is continually to show evidence of whatever lifelong learning means to a state medical board. The end result of all of this is more needless regulation, more expense, and more money flowing from state medical boards towards the Federation of State medical Board (FSMB), which continually lobbies for increased regulation.
“more needless regulation, more expense, and more money flowing from state medical boards towards the Federation of State medical Board (FSMB)”
“The stated goals were to support a commitment to lifelong learning, to mandate that state medical boards establish MOL requirements, and to create a system whereby a physician is continually to show evidence of whatever lifelong learning means to a state medical board”
Something I would really appreciate.  I’m not too crazy about a doctor not continuing their learning.

Lawyers do not need to continually retake the bar exam in order to become licensed to practice law in a state. Neither do CPA’s. Neither do other professionals.
Lawyers and CPA’s don’t cut people open or prescribed drugs.  I can’t remember that last time a CPA or Lawyer was responsible for taking out a kidney or doing a liver transplant

I’m kinda of the opinion that the bar for continuing education should be a little higher for people who are cutting open other people and prescribing potentially dangerous and deadly medications (if not done correctly).
Since there is no evidence to indicate that the delivery of medical care will be improved via these recertification requirements, there should be no requirement by state medical boards, hospitals, insurers, or any other third party payer for specialty board certification, re-certification, or maintenance of licensure (MOL). Furthermore, the Federation of state Medical Boards (FSMB) should not be funded by individual states’ physicians.
Well – I guess you made your point!
But I’m sure there some of patients out here that may not agree with you.
You know those folks the patients – or is the money you are really worried about.

And what they want is
MODEL LEGISLATION
    This legislation shall prohibit the state (name of state) to require any form of maintenance of licensure (MOL), maintenance of certification(MOC), or even original certification by a specialty medical board, in order to practice medicine within the state. This shall apply to hospitals, insurers, other third party payers, and the state medical board.

    This legislation shall prohibit the state medical board from funding the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB). Funds from physician licensures shall not be sent to FSMB and the state shall not permit any money to be forwarded to FSMB from this state.
READ THAT legislation very carefully - it is about to become important.

And Lo and Behold - - - - - -
What they got at ALEC was:

2012 States & Nation Policy Summit
Thursday, November 29, 2012
2:30 - 5:30 p.m.
TENTATIVE AGENDA

Patient Access Expansion Act
PATIENT ACCESS EXPANSION ACT (DRAFT, OCTOBER 25, 2012)
SUMMARY
This Act prohibits maintenance of licensure, maintenance of certification, and specialty certification as state requirements to practice medicine. It also prohibits the state medical board from funding the Federation of State Medical Boards.

MODEL LEGISLATION
Section 1. Short Title.
This Act shall be known as the "Patient Access Expansion Act."

Section 2. Prohibition of Maintenance of Licensure, Maintenance of Certification, Specialty Certification to Practice Medicine.
The state of {insert state} is prohibited from requiring any form of maintenance of licensure, maintenance of certification, or original certification by a specialty medical board, in order to practice medicine within the state.

Section 3. Prohibition of State Funding of Federation of State Medical Boards.
The {insert state medical board} is prohibited from funding the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB). Funds from physician licensures shall not be sent to FSMB and the state of {insert state} shall not permit any money to be forwarded to FSMB from this state.
Section 3. {Severability Clause}
Section 4. {Repealer Clause}
Section 5. {Effective Date}

Do you want to take the chance your doctor doesn't know what they are doing?
Are you okay with the fact that doctors would not be required to keep their skills and education current?
This could be your reality is ALEC state legislators have their way in getting this legislation passed.

Are you ready to die for your ALEC legislator?

Doctors doing harm - legislation distributed by the extremist American Legislative Exchange Council brought to your state by ALEC legislative members.


 Don’t know who/what ALEC is?
It is time you did!!!


 Watch Bill Moyers' Expose on the American Legislative Exchange Council.
United States of ALEC.


For lots of info about the American Legislative Exchange Council
check out this webpage

ALEC Exposed


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