Public active on medical boards, but not always tougher on doctors

Having nonphysicians on state medical boards, however, is seen as a credibility-builder for panels seeking more public trust.

By Andis Robeznieks, AMNews staff. Nov. 11, 2002.

There is a pattern when it comes to reforming state medical boards: Local media stir up the public with stories highlighting physician blunders and mismanaged investigations by the medical board.

The public then stirs up politicians, and lawmakers respond by adding more nonphysician "public" members to the board.

The implication: Physicians cannot be trusted to police other physicians, and nonphysicians are needed to keep the "old-boy network" from sweeping problems under the rug.

There is, however, some evidence showing that this perception is not reality. The Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana medical boards all have physician-only membership. They also boast some of the most aggressive disciplinary rates.

The consumer watchdog group Public Citizen annually tabulates what it defines as "serious" disciplinary actions (license revocations and suspensions), and it listed Alabama 12th, Mississippi 13th, and Louisiana 24th in its state rankings for 2001.

In contrast, Rhode Island has six public members on its 13-person board and was 42nd. And Delaware, where public members make up almost one-third of the medical board, ranked 49th.

Rather than taking it easy on their fellow physicians, some think professional pride makes doctors on medical boards take a tough stance against wayward colleagues.

"I've noticed that the physicians are sometimes harder on physicians than the 'consumer advocates' on the board," said Ronald Morton, MD, a member of the Medical Board of California. "I think they care. It's their profession that's being sullied by bad actors." [...]