BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 916
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 30, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION
Richard S. Gordon, Chair
AB 916 (Eggman) - As Introduced: February 22, 2013
SUBJECT : Healing arts: false or misleading advertising.
SUMMARY : Prohibits a physician from using the terms "board,"
"certified," or "certification" in advertising unless those
terms are used in reference to a certifying board meeting
specified criteria. Specifically, this bill :
1)Prohibits a licensed physician and surgeon who is certified,
as specified, from using the terms board," "certified," or
"certification" in advertising unless the full name of the
certifying board is also used and given comparable prominence
with the terms "board," "certified," "certification," or
"board certified" in the statement and unless the term or
terms are used in reference to a certifying board, as
specified.
2)Deletes an obsolete definition of the term "board certified".
3)Makes finding and declarations relative to the importance of
preventing false advertising of certified medical services.
EXISTING LAW
1)Establishes the Medical Board of California (Board) and
specifies the responsibilities of the Board to regulate
physicians and surgeons as specified. (Business and
Professions Code (BPC) Section 2004)
2)Provides that a physician and surgeon licensed by the Board
may include a statement that he or she limits his or her
practice to specific fields, but shall not include a statement
that he or she is certified or eligible for certification by a
private or public board or parent association, including but
not limited to a multidisciplinary board or association unless
the board or association is:
a) An American Board of Medical Specialties member board;
AB 916
Page 2
b) A board or association with equivalent requirements
approved by that physician and surgeon's licensing board;
or,
c) A board or association with an Accreditation Council for
Graduate Medical Education approved postgraduate training
program that provides complete training in that specialty
or subspecialty. (BPC 651)
3)Prohibits a physician and surgeon licensed by the Board who is
certified by a qualified board association from using the term
'"board certified" unless the full name of the certifying
board is also used and given comparable prominence with the
endorsement. (BPC 651)
4)Defines multidisciplinary board or association to mean "an
educational certifying body that has a psychometrically valid
test process as determined by the Board for certifying medical
doctors and other healthcare professionals that is based on
the applicant's education, training and experience." (BPC 651)
FISCAL EFFECT : None. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the bill . This bill aims to protect consumers from
false or misleading advertisements about the training and
qualifications of physicians by prohibiting the use of the
terms "board," "certified," or "certification" in advertising
unless the physician is certified by an acceptable certifying
body, as specified. This bill is sponsored by the California
Society of Plastic Surgeons.
2)Author's statement . According to the author, "This bill aims
to protect the public by requiring better information about
the qualification of health care providers. Some physicians
misrepresent themselves by advertising they are part of a
board, are certified or have certification. While most
physicians and surgeons are following the letter of the law,
some physicians mislead the public by implying they are board
certified. 'Board certification' represents the gold standard
for training a physician has received in their specialty.
This bill seeks to protect the public from misrepresentation
and/or misleading advertisements."
AB 916
Page 3
3)Practicing without a specialty certification . Board specialty
certification as held by physicians is not a requirement for
licensure; it is a voluntary process granted by a member board
of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), a private
organization, or other equivalent board. However, current law
is quite clear that a physician may not advertise that they
are "board certified" unless they have been certified by the
appropriate certifying entity. Unfortunately, restrictions on
variations of that term are not as clear.
This restriction is important in advertising because patients
may choose a licensed physician based on their board
certification. Recent news articles have highlighted cases of
individuals who may be selecting doctors based on false
representation of their certification credentials. In a
recent news story by CBS 13, patients of a Rocklin-based
doctor were left deformed and paralyzed after receiving
plastic surgery procedures from a doctor whose background and
training were in another medical specialty. This bill helps
to prevent the misrepresentation of a physician's credentials
by prohibiting them from using words to imply board
certification.
4)Board certification and licensure . Licensure for physicians
and surgeons requires a Doctor of Medicine degree from an
approved school and one continuous year in a single
postgraduate training program accredited by the Accreditation
Council for Graduate Medical Education or Royal College of
Physician and Surgeons of Canada. However, being licensed
does not indicate whether a doctor is qualified to practice in
a specific medical specialty, such as pediatrics, plastic
surgery or dermatology. Currently, there are three
accrediting entities that provide board certification for
licensees regulated under the Board. Between Board-approved
specialty boards and the ABMS, there are 28 certificated
specialties.
The Board has approved the following four specialty boards,
American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery,
American Board of Pain Medicine, American Board of Sleep
Medicine and the American Board of Spine Surgery.
5)American Board of Medical Specialty . The AMBS is non-profit
organization made up of twenty-four medical specialty boards
and is responsible for overseeing the certification of
AB 916
Page 4
physician specialists throughout the United States. The
individual specialty boards represented under the AMBS include
Allergy and Immunology, Anesthesiology, Colon and Rectal
Surgery, Dermatology, Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine,
Internal Medicine, Medical Genetics, Neurological Surgery,
Nuclear Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ophthalmology,
Orthopaedic Surgery, Otolaryngology, Pathology, Pediatrics,
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Plastic Surgery,
Preventive Medicine, Psychiatry and Neurology, Radiology,
Surgery, Thoracic Surgery and Urology.
Each of the twenty-four AMBS specialty boards is responsible
for establishing the standards of competency for specialty
certification. The specialty boards are governed by a board
of trustees or a board of directors who are certified in the
board's specialty area.
When an individual physician seeks board certification, they
would contact that board directly for its certification
standards and process. For example, the board certification
process for pediatrics includes an application to take a
certifying examination, and meeting general admission
requirements including a medical school degree,
satisfactorily completion of three years of
pediatric-accredited training, and a valid and unrestricted
license to practice medicine.
6)Arguments in support . The California Society of Plastic
Surgeons writes in support, "[This bill] is a simple measure
that looks to protect the use of the term board certified and
allow patients to truly understand the training and education
of the healthcare practitioner they are considering for their
medical care. Board certification represents the 'gold
standard' for training a physician has received in their
specialty. When an individual sees an advertisement stating a
physician is board certified in a certain specialty such as
plastic surgery they have confidence the plastic surgeon in
the advertisement has received extensive training."
California Chapter of the American College of Emergency
Physicians writes in support, "As Californians are being asked
to be more involved with their healthcare decisions,
understanding the training and education of healthcare
practitioners is becoming even more important. Board
certification represents the gold standard for the training
AB 916
Page 5
and education a physician obtains. [This bill] protects the
use of the term board-certified and allows patients to better
understand the training and education of the healthcare
practitioner whom they are considering for their medical
care."
7)Previous legislation . AB 583 (Hayashi), Chapter 436, Statutes
of 2010, required 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.
SB 1454 (Ridley-Thomas) of 2008, required any advertising by a
chiropractor, dentist, physician and surgeon, nurse,
vocational nurse, psychologist, optometrist or physician
assistant include the type of degree received upon graduation
from professional training, among other things. SB 1454 was
held on the Assembly Floor.
AB 2734 (Krekorian) of 2008, required medical advertisements
to include a name and a valid license number from the
appropriate licensing agency. AB 2734 was held on the
Assembly Floor.
SB 836 (Figueroa) Chapter 856, Statutes of 1999, expanded and
revised the prohibition against fraudulent advertising by
health practitioners.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Society of Plastic Surgeons (sponsor)
California Chapter of the American College of Emergency
Physicians
California Orthopaedic Association
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Elissa Silva / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301
AB 916
Page 6