BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2214
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 29, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION
Susan A. Bonilla, Chair
AB 2214 (Fox) - As Amended: April 21, 2014
SUBJECT : Emergency room physicians and surgeons: continuing
medical education: geriatric care.
SUMMARY : Enacts the Dolores H. Fox Act to require the Medical
Board of California (MBC) to consider including a course in
geriatric care for emergency room physicians and surgeons as
part of its continuing education requirements.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes MBC to administer and enforce the provisions of
the Medical Practice Act. (Business and Professions Code
(BPC) Section 2001, 2004)
2)Requires MBC to adopt and administer standards for the
continuing education of licensees, and requires each licensee
to demonstrate satisfaction of the requirements at regular
intervals. (BPC 2190)
3)Requires all general internists and family physicians who have
a patient population of which over 25% are 65 years of age or
older to complete at least 20% of all mandatory continuing
education hours in a course in the field of geriatric medicine
or the care of older patients. (BPC 2190.3)
4)Requires all physicians and surgeons to complete a mandatory
continuing education course in the subjects of pain management
and the treatment of terminally ill and dying patients, as
specified. (BPC 2190.5)
5)Requires MBC to consider including a course in the following
subjects when determining its continuing education
requirements:
a) Human sexuality;
b) Child abuse detection;
AB 2214
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c) Acupuncture;
d) Elder abuse detection and treatment,
e) Early detection and treatment of substance abusing
pregnant women;
f) Special care needs of drug addicted infants;
g) How to routinely screen for signs exhibited by abused
women;
h) Special care needs of individuals and their families
facing end-of-life issues; and,
i) Pain management. (BPC 2191)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of this bill . This bill directs MBC to consider
including a course in geriatric care for emergency room
physicians and surgeons for its continuing education
requirements. This bill is author-sponsored.
2)Author's statement . According to the author's office,
"Elderly patients do not exhibit the same signs or symptoms of
illnesses as younger patients, often times causing the elderly
patients [to be] misdiagnosed. This bill requires the
California Medical Board to consider including a course in
geriatric care for emergency room doctors when establishing
continuing education requirements. This bill highlights the
importance of geriatric care in emergency rooms in an aging
society."
3)Geriatric medicine . According to the American Medical Student
Association, "'Geriatrics is medical practice that addresses
the complex needs of older patients and emphasizes maintaining
functional independence even in the presence of chronic
disease. It requires an interdisciplinary approach between
physicians, nurses, social workers, occupational therapists,
and family members in order to provide comprehensive care for
these patients with multiple needs.
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"Geriatric medicine is its own specialty. After an internal
medicine or family practice residency, physicians can complete
a one or two year fellowship to become certified in
geriatrics. Geriatricians are primary care doctors for older
patients and can also serve as consultants to other physicians
and to hospital programs that work with the elderly."
4)Continuing education requirements . MBC requires all
physicians to complete at least 50 hours of approved
continuing education for each two-year period immediately
preceding the expiration date of the license. MBC approves
continuing education providers and establishes criteria for
acceptable courses.
MBC requires all physicians to complete a mandatory continuing
education course in the subjects of pain management and the
treatment of terminally ill and dying patients. It also
requires all general internists and family physicians who have
a patient population of which over 25% are 65 years of age or
older to complete at least 20% of all mandatory continuing
education hours in a course in the field of geriatric medicine
or the care of older patients.
Current law also establishes a list of courses that MBC shall
consider including when establishing continuing education
requirements. This bill would require MBC to add geriatric
care for ER physicians to that consideration list, but would
not require that the actual courses be required. .
5)Arguments in support . California Communities United Institute
writes, "Emergency rooms need to have physicians who are
trained in geriatric medicine so they will be up to the
challenge of caring for older patients in the pressured
atmosphere of an emergency room. And yet, according to the
American Geriatrics Society, there are currently about 7,500
certified geriatricians in the nation, but approximately
17,000 are needed.
Emergency rooms need doctors trained in care for elder
Americans. AB 2214 is a first step towards reaching that
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goal."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Commission on Aging
California Communities United Institute
California Long-Term Care Ombudsman Association
64 individuals
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Sarah Huchel / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301