hb 0667

CHAPTER 228

HB 667 - FINAL VERSION

AN ACT relative to certain reporting requirements and relative to meetings of the board of medicine.

SPONSORS: Rep. Pilliod, Belk 3

I. Changes the membership of the board of medicine, by including the commissioner as a voting member.

II. Allows the president of the board to call an emergency meeting when required by an imminent peril to the public health or safety.

III. Requires every facility director, or designee, for any licensed hospital, health clinic, ambulatory surgical center, medical training school or facility, or other health care facility, to report to the board any adverse action.

IV. Changes the requirement for license renewal from an annual basis to a biennial basis.

V. Provides an exception to the requirements of RSA 329 for physician assistants who meet certain requirements.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

AN ACT relative to certain reporting requirements and relative to meetings of the board of medicine.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

228:1 New Section; Residential Care and Health Facility Licensing; Disciplinary Action. Amend RSA 151 by inserting after section 6-a the following new section:

151:6-b Report of Disciplinary Action. Every facility administrator, or designee, for any health care facility licensed under this chapter shall report to the board of medicine any disciplinary or adverse action, within 30 days after such action is taken, including situations in which allegations of misconduct are settled by voluntary resignation without adverse action, against a person licensed by the board.

I. There shall be a board of medicine consisting of [8] 9 members; including 5 members selected from among physicians and surgeons, one member selected to represent [~~paramedical personnel~~] physician assistants regulated by the board, the commissioner or the medical director of the department of health and human services, and [~~two~~] 2 public members[~~, each to be appointed by the governor with the approval of the council, to a term of 5 years. No member shall be appointed to more than 2 consecutive terms~~]. Only board members provided for in this paragraph shall have the authority to vote in board determinations. Any public member of the board shall be a person who is not, and never was, a member of the medical profession or the spouse of any such person, and who does not have, and never has had, a material financial interest in either the provision of medical services or an activity directly related to medicine, including the representation of the board or profession for a fee at any time during the 5 years preceding appointment.

228:3 Board of Medicine; Commissioner of Health and Human Services as Voting Member. RSA 329:4 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

I. The commissioner or the medical director of the department of health and human services shall serve as a voting member of the board. The commissioner and the medical director are exempt from the provisions of RSA 329:4, II.

II. The remaining 8 members of the board shall be appointed, as their terms expire, by the governor with the advice and consent of the council. Their terms of office shall be 5 years and until their successors are appointed and qualified. No member shall be appointed to more than 2 consecutive terms. Appointments to fill vacancies shall be for the unexpired term. The governor and council may remove any appointed member of the board for malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance.

329:7 Meetings; Officers. The board shall meet monthly, or more often as its business requires. A president and such other officers as the board deems necessary shall be chosen annually from the membership of the board. [~~The commissioner of the department of health and human services shall be a nonvoting member.~~] The president of the board may call an emergency meeting when required by an imminent peril to the public health or safety, and may conduct such meeting telephonically, with a quorum of board members eligible to vote with respect to the subject matter of the emergency. Any vote resulting from such meetings shall have the same effect as votes resulting from other meetings of the board, if such vote is ratified at the next regularly scheduled board meeting. The duties of the officers of the board shall be those usually pertaining to such officers. Elected board officers shall not serve more than 5 years in such elected positions.

228:5 Reference to Annual Renewal Removed. Amend RSA 329:13-b, V(b) to read as follows:

(b) The board shall allocate [~~$10~~] $20 from each physician [~~annual~~] license renewal fee it collects to provide funding for the physician effectiveness program as set forth in subparagraph V(a).

228:6 Physicians and Surgeons; Renewal of Licenses. Amend RSA 329:16-a to read as follows:

329:16-a Renewal. Every person licensed to practice under this chapter, except as provided in RSA 329:16-c, shall apply to the board [~~for annual~~] on a biennial basis for renewal of license on forms provided by the board and shall pay a renewal fee as established by the board. If a person applies to the board for a renewal of license by June 30 of the year in which the licensee's renewal is set to occur, the person's license shall not expire until July 1 of such year.

228:7 Physicians and Surgeons; Notice of Renewal. Amend RSA 329:16-d to read as follows:

329:16-d Notice of Renewal. On or before [~~May~~] February 1 of each licensee's renewal year, the board shall mail each licensee, except those on the inactive list, an application for renewal of license.

228:8 Physicians and Surgeons; Neglect to Renew. Amend RSA 329:16-e to read as follows:

329:16-e Neglect to Renew. Any licensee who fails to [~~file an application for renewal~~] renew his or her license by June 30 of the year in which the licensee's renewal is set to occur shall be required to pay double the renewal fee. Any failure, neglect, or refusal on the part of any person licensed by the board to renew the license as provided in RSA 329:16-a shall automatically lapse such license. Licenses lapsed under this section shall not be restored except upon payment of a restoration fee as established by the board, and a showing of such evidence of professional competence as the board may reasonably require.

228:9 Physicians and Surgeons; Disciplinary Action. Amend RSA 329:17, IV to read as follows:

IV. Every facility administrator, or designee, for any licensed hospital, health clinic, ambulatory surgical center, or other health care facility within the state shall report to the board any disciplinary or adverse action, within 30 days after such action is taken, including situations in which allegations of misconduct are settled by voluntary resignation without adverse action, against a person licensed by the board [~~within 30 days after such action is taken~~].

228:10 New Paragraph; Physicians and Surgeons; Persons Excepted. Amend RSA 329:21 by inserting after paragraph XV the following new paragraph:

XVI. To such physician assistants as have been approved and certified by the board while under the supervision and control of a physician licensed in this state, but only if such person:

(a) Is a student in an established program which has been approved by the board; or

(b) Is a graduate of such a program and has passed, or has received temporary certification for the period pending the results of any examination for physician assistants required by the board.

II. The remainder of this act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

II. Remainder shall take effect September 9, 2001)