BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                       AB 2745|
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                                   THIRD READING 


          Bill No:  AB 2745
          Author:   Holden (D) 
          Amended:  4/25/16 in Assembly
          Vote:     21 

           SENATE BUS., PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMMITTEE:  8-0, 6/13/16
           AYES:  Hill, Bates, Block, Gaines, Galgiani, Jackson, Mendoza,  
            Wieckowski
           NO VOTE RECORDED:  Hernandez

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE:  Senate Rule 28.8

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  78-0, 5/12/16 (Consent) - See last page for  
            vote

           SUBJECT:   Healing arts:  licensing and certification


          SOURCE:    Medical Board of California

          DIGEST:   This bill makes various changes to the Medical  
          Practice Act (Act).


          ANALYSIS:    Existing law provides for the licensure and  
          regulation of physicians and surgeons by the Medical Board of  
          California (MBC) pursuant to the Act. (Business and Professions  
          Code (BPC) § 2000 et. seq.)


          This bill:










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          1)Makes various changes to the Act intended to make clarifying  
            changes to the Act in order to assist MBC in its licensing and  
            enforcement functions.   Specifically, MBC is responsible for  
            licensing and regulating allied health licensees, which  
            include Licensed Midwives, Polysomnographic Technologists,  
            Technicians and Trainees, and Research Psychoanalysts, however  
            there are some provisions that apply to physicians and  
            surgeons in the Act that MBC also applies to allied health  
            licensees and as such.


          2)Clarifies MBC's authority to: revoke or deny a license for  
            registered sex offenders; take disciplinary action for  
            excessive use of drugs or alcohol; allow allied health  
            licensees to petition for license reinstatement; and allow MBC  
            to use probation as a disciplinary option for allied health  
            licensees, including procuring payment for the costs of  
            probation monitoring.


          Background


          Limited License (LL).  MBC offers a LL to applicants or disabled  
          status licensees if they are otherwise eligible for licensure,  
          but unable to practice all aspects of medicine safely due to a  
          disability.  Currently, only new licensees or disabled status  
          licensees can apply for this LL.  To allow all licensees the  
          ability to apply for a LL at any time, this bill provides the  
          changes to law necessary so that the LL is an option for all  
          licensees.  This bill also makes necessary changes to allow  
          physicians with a disabled status license to change to a LL. 


          Post graduate training authorization.  Provisions in the Act  
          specify reasons MBC is authorized to deny a physician's and  
          surgeon's application for licensure. Amendments to the Act  
          contained in this bill clarify that MBC can deny a post graduate  
          training authorization letter for the same reasons it can deny a  
          physician's and surgeon's license application.


          Obtaining records for a deceased patient.  For investigations  
          involving the death of a patient, MBC is authorized to inspect  







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          and copy the medical records of the deceased patient without the  
          approval of the next of kin of the deceased patient or court  
          order.  MBC only uses this authority when determining whether  
          the death stemmed from violation of the Act by a physician or  
          surgeon.  In these instances, MBC must provide a written request  
          to the physician that owns the records, declaring that MBC has  
          been unsuccessful in locating or contacting the patient's next  
          of kin after reasonable efforts.  According to MBC, in many  
          cases, the patient's medical records do not reside with the  
          physician but rather at the facility where the care of the  
          deceased patient occurred.  MBC notes that the language in this  
          bill will ensure that investigations are not hindered by  
          allowing MBC to send a written request to the facility where the  
          care actually occurred or where the records are truly located.


          Allied health professions.  MBC is responsible for licensing and  
          regulating allied health licensees, which include Licensed  
          Midwives, Polysomnographic Technologists, Technicians and  
          Trainees, and Research Psychoanalysts. Amendments to the Act in  
          this bill clarify MBC's enforcement authority for these  
          professions.  




          FISCAL EFFECT:   Appropriation:    Yes         Fiscal  
          Com.:YesLocal:   Yes


          SUPPORT:   (Verified8/3/16)


          Medical Board of California (source)
          The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees  



          OPPOSITION:   (Verified8/3/16)


          None received









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          ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT:     The American Federation of State,  
          County and Municipal Employees notes that the organization  
          promotes clarity within the medical field and this bill will  
          ensure MBC's authority to perform their duties is clear.  MBC  
          believes that this bill clarifies MBC's authority for allied  
          health licensees MBC licenses.  According to MBC, this bill will  
          clean up existing law to ensure that MBC's authority to perform  
          its regulatory oversight of licensees is clearly defined and  
          aligned with the Act.


           
          ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  78-0, 5/12/16
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,  
            Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Calderon,  
            Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper,  
            Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines,  
            Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson,  
            Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger  
            Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,  
            Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina,  
            Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen,  
            Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,  
            Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,  
            Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Burke, Jones-Sawyer

          Prepared by:Sarah Mason / B., P. & E.D. / (916) 651-4104
          8/3/16 18:11:09


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