BILL ANALYSIS AB 583 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 583 (Hayashi) As Amended August 20, 2010 Majority vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |78-0 |(April 13, |SENATE: |27-9 |(August 24, | | | |2009) | | |2010) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: B., P. & C.P. SUMMARY : Requires health care practitioners to provide their name, license type, and highest level of academic degree, and board certification in a written disclosure or in their offices, as specified. The Senate amendments : 1)Require health care practitioners to disclose their name, license type, and highest level of academic degree in their office or in writing to their patients, as specified. 2)Require physicians and surgeons, including osteopathic physicians, as specified, to disclose the name of their certifying board or association. 3)Require health care practitioners disclosing the required information in writing to use at least 24-point type and a specified format. 4)Exempt nurses and pharmacists from the requirement to display their highest level of academic degree. 5)Require health care practitioners providing information regarding health care services on an Internet Web site by their direct control or office personnel, to prominently display the information required by this bill. 6)Exempt the following health care practitioners from this bill: a) Those providing professional medical services to enrollees of a health care service plan that exclusively contracts with a single medical group in a specific AB 583 Page 2 geographic area; b) Those working in a licensed clinical laboratory or health facility, including hospitals, nursing facilities, intermediate care facilities, correctional treatment centers, as specified; and, c) Those licensed in one of the following professions: clinical laboratory technology, hearing aid dispensers, respiratory therapy, veterinary medicine, and social workers. EXISTING LAW : 1)Makes it unlawful for health care licensees to disseminate or cause to be disseminated any form of public communication, as defined, containing false, fraudulent, misleading, deceptive statements, or images, as specified, to induce the provision of services or the rendering of a product relating to a professional practice or business for which he or she is licensed, and provides that any person so licensed who violates this provision is guilty of a misdemeanor and that such a violation shall constitute good cause for revocation or suspension of his or her license or other disciplinary action including an administrative fine not to exceed $10,000. 2)Authorizes advertising by health care licensees if it includes certain general information regarding the practitioner and requires certain disclosures to be made regarding dentists, physicians and surgeons, podiatrists and optometrists regarding the advertising of their education, accreditation, certification or specialty. 3)Specifies requirements for the recognition and advertising, or claims or statements made by dentists, physicians and surgeons, podiatrists and optometrists regarding board certification, or recognition by an accrediting organization, multidisciplinary board or association. AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill required health care practitioners to display their educational degree, license type and status, and board certification on either their nametag or in their offices, as specified. This bill also required supervising physicians and surgeons to post their hours in each office. AB 583 Page 3 FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal. COMMENTS : This bill was amended in the Senate to require health care practitioners to disclose specified information by written disclosure or by prominent display, instead of on name tags. This bill, as amended in the Senate in consistent with Assembly actions. Analysis Prepared by : Joanna Gin / B.,P. & C.P. / (916) 319-3301 FN: 0006667