The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, in a July 25 opinion, rejected constitutional challenges to a recent Florida law that prevents state-licensed physicians from inquiring about their patients' gun ownership (Wollschlaeger v. Governor of the State of Florida). The law, amending Florida's Patient's Bill of Rights and…
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One of the cases described by Kentucky board counsel Cheryl Lalonde was decided August 25, 2009 by the Court of Appeal of California, Third Appellate District. The ruling (Louis H. Watson v. The Superior Court of Sacramento County, Medical Board of California) involved a surgeon who had several DUI violations…
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State agency websites don't strive for superior turning ability, extra shine, or spin cycle speed. But anyone who's consulted Consumer Reports to compare vacuum cleaners or hybrid cars will recognize the red- and black-dotted rating system the publisher adopted in its recent ratings of state medical board websites. A Survey…
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flickr | Hazma Butt An appellate court in California overturned a license revocation issued to a doctor who had accepted several thousand dollars in disability insurance while working for another employer (Pirouzian v. Superior Court; Medical Board of California, Real Party in Interest). In its June 29, 2016, decision, the…
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alamodestuff | flickr The Oregon Court of Appeals, in an August 3, 2016, decision, granted a hearing to resolve a factual dispute in the case of a physician whose license was revoked by default after he failed to arrive for the beginning of his hearing, in the mistaken belief he…
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The California Medical Board, through Executive Director Kimberly Kirchmeyer, investigated Dr. Geoffrey Phillips, a licensed psychiatrist, based on an allegation that he had a sexual relationship with one of his patients, A.M. After her therapy with Dr. Phillips ended, A.M. divorced her husband, S.M. S.M. then filed a complaint with…
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Plaintiffs’ operative complaint alleged that decedent George Fenimore, Jr., suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, was prone to wandering away from home, and had begun to suffer an increased number of falls, leading his family to admit him to a local hospital. He was transferred from that hospital to Resnick…
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Physicians would suffer irreparable harm if forced to comply with new Texas rules requiring face-to-face physical examination of patients prior to prescription of any dangerous drug or controlled substance, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas held May 29 (Teladoc, Inc. v. Texas Medical Board). The ruling,…
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The traditional appointed board model for regulating the professions has been a fixture of state government for well over a century. But new models of delivering services, plus a pro-competition climate at the state and federal level, may be threatening the classic regulatory structure. The February 25 U.S. Supreme Court…
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The Arizona state attorney general's office denied a request by the state's former medical board director to pay legal fees she incurred from a high-profile 2013 investigation by the state ombudsman. In a scathing report last October, the ombudsman found that both the director and deputy director ordered state employees…
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