BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1127 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 12, 2011 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER PROTECTION Mary Hayashi, Chair AB 1127 (Brownley) - As Amended: April 4, 2011 SUBJECT : Physicians and surgeons: unprofessional conduct. SUMMARY : Makes it unprofessional conduct for a physician and surgeon who is the subject of an investigation by the Medical Board of California (MBC) to repeatedly fail, in the absence of good cause, to attend and participate in an interview scheduled by the mutual agreement of the physician and surgeon and the Board. EXISTING LAW 1)Provides for the licensure and regulation of physicians and surgeons under the Medical Practice Act by the MBC. 2)Requires the MBC to take action against any licensee who is charged with unprofessional conduct. 3)Provides that unprofessional conduct includes, but is not limited to, the following: a) Violating or attempting to violate, directly or indirectly, assisting in or abetting the violation of, or conspiring to violate any provision of this chapter. b) Gross negligence. c) Repeated negligent acts, as specified. d) Incompetence. e) The commission of any act involving dishonesty or corruption which is substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of a physician and surgeon. f) Any action or conduct which would have warranted the denial of a certificate. AB 1127 Page 2 g) The practice of medicine from this state into another state or country without meeting the legal requirements of that state or country for the practice of medicine, as specified. FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown COMMENTS : Purpose of this bill . According to the author's office, "After an initial complaint is filed against a physician with the Medical Board, the Board's first step is to interview the physician to gather more background and determine the legitimacy of the complaint. Interviews require the presence of the physician, investigator from the Medical Board, medical consultant from the Medical Board, and a representative from the Attorney General's office. Multiple dates are suggested before settling on a time that accommodates the physician's schedule. "Despite best practices by the Board to dismiss frivolous complaints and pursue those that warrant formal accusations, there have been documented delays in investigations as some physicians have repeatedly and purposefully failed to appear before the Board after scheduling interviews absent good cause. This has resulted in cases being delayed between 60 days to over one year. Over the last three years, the Board has been forced to issue 338 subpoenas to compel participation of these physicians, wasting valuable staff time and department resources." Background . The MBC's disciplinary process requires the MBC, after receiving a complaint against a licensee, to interview the physician before moving forward to either close the case or take disciplinary action. If the physician refuses to appear for an interview, the process comes to a halt. After the Legislature's 2001-02 sunset review of the MBC, SB 1950 (Figueroa), Chapter 1085, Statutes of 2002, required the Director of Consumer Affairs to retain, by March 31, 2003, an enforcement program monitor to evaluate the MBC's disciplinary system for two years and report his or her findings to the Legislature, the MBC, and the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA). In 2005, the MBC's enforcement program monitor released her AB 1127 Page 3 final report that found, among other things, that MBC's case processing times were unacceptably high and cited delays in physician interviews as a contributing factor. While the MBC revised its interview policies and deadlines, the report noted that the average number of days between the interview request and the actual interview represents "a large portion of the undesirable 259-day average investigative timeframe." Support . The MBC, sponsor of this bill, states, "The Board believes that this bill will help to expedite the closure of disciplinary cases by providing an incentive for physicians to cooperate and participate in physician interviews...The Medical Board believes this bill will significantly reduce the delays that result from a physician failing to cooperate with the Board by not participating in the physician interview." Previous legislation . SB 1950 (Figueroa), Chapter 1085, Statutes of 2002, requires the Director of Consumer Affairs to retain, by March 31, 2003, an enforcement program monitor to evaluate the MBC's disciplinary system for two years and report his or her findings to the Legislature, the MBC, and DCA. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support Medical Board of California (sponsor) Center for Public Interest Law Opposition None on file. Analysis Prepared by : Angela Mapp / B.,P. & C.P. / (916) 319-3301