BILL NUMBER: AB 948	CHAPTERED  09/22/03

	CHAPTER  438
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  SEPTEMBER 22, 2003
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR  SEPTEMBER 20, 2003
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  SEPTEMBER 2, 2003
	PASSED THE SENATE  AUGUST 27, 2003
	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 18, 2003
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 26, 2003
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 29, 2003
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 21, 2003

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Nunez
   (Coauthor:  Senator Alarcon)

                        FEBRUARY 20, 2003

   An act to add Section 2115 to the Business and Professions Code,
relating to physicians and surgeons.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 948, Nunez.  Postgraduate study fellowship program.
   Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, provides for the
licensure, regulation, and discipline of physicians and surgeons by
the Medical Board of California.  Existing law requires the Division
of Licensing of the board to approve undergraduate and graduate
medical education programs, clinical clerkships, and special
programs.
   This bill would authorize a physician who is not a United States
citizen but who is legally in this country and who is seeking
postgraduate study to participate, after approval by the division, in
a fellowship program in a specialty or subspecialty field in a
clinic or hospital in a medically underserved area, as defined.  The
bill would require these physicians and surgeons to be supervised by
a physician and surgeon who is a specialist in the area in which the
fellow is training and who has an appointment with a medical school
in the state.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  The Legislature hereby finds and declares the
following:
   (a) California is facing an extreme shortage of primary care
physicians, especially in clinics and underserved areas, which are
areas of the state where other medical professionals are unwilling to
practice.
   (b) Having more physicians in clinics now and in the future will
help to alleviate the burden on existing physicians and will help to
ensure access to primary care for clinic patients.
   (c) Since most clinics specialize in primary care or family
practice rather than subspecialty care, this act will enable, and
possibly encourage, more primary care physicians to take fellowships
in primary care or family practice medicine.
  SEC. 2.  It is the intent of the Legislature, given that many
clinics exist in medically underserved areas, to help address access
to care issues, which is a major concern for California, by making
certain that more patients are seen by qualified medical personnel in
these underserved areas.
  SEC. 3.  Section 2115 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
   2115.  (a) Physicians who are not citizens but are legally
admitted to the United States and who seek postgraduate study may,
after application to and approval by the Division of Licensing, be
permitted to participate in a fellowship program in a specialty or
subspecialty field, providing the fellowship program is given in a
clinic or hospital in a medically underserved area of this state that
is licensed by the State Department of Health Services or is exempt
from licensure pursuant to subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 1206 of
the Health and Safety Code, and providing service is satisfactory to
the division.  These physicians shall at all times be under the
direction and supervision of a licensed, board certified physician
and surgeon who has an appointment with a medical school in
California and is a specialist in the field in which the fellow is to
be trained.  The supervisor, as part of the application process,
shall submit his or her curriculum vitae and a protocol of the
fellowship program to be completed by the foreign fellow.  Approval
of the program and supervisor is for a period of one year, but may be
renewed annually upon application to and approval by the division.
The approval may not be renewed more than four times.  The division
may determine a fee, based on the cost of operating this program,
which shall be paid by the applicant at the time the application is
filed.
   (b) Except to the extent authorized by this section, no visiting
physician may engage in the practice of medicine or receive
compensation therefor.  The time spent under appointment in a clinic
pursuant to this section may not be used to meet the requirements for
licensure under Section 2102.
   (c) Nothing in this section shall preclude any United States
citizen who has received his or her medical degree from a medical
school located in a foreign country from participating in any program
established pursuant to this section.
   (d) For purposes of this section, a medically underserved area
means a federally designated Medically Underserved Area, a federally
designated Health Professional Shortage Area, and any other  clinic
or hospital determined by the board to be medically underserved.
Clinics or hospitals determined by the board pursuant to this
subdivision shall be reported to the Office of Statewide Health
Planning and Development.