Interstate Medical Licensure Compact launched
At long last, the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact is live. Physicians in Compact states can apply for expedited licenses.
Currently, seven of the 18 states in the Compact are ready to issue licenses through the Compact. These are Alabama, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. The remaining 11 states—Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, Nevada, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Utah—are still preparing to accept applications for verification and a background check. This issue should be resolved shortly.
The AMA strongly supports the Compact and is interested in working with any state medical association that wishes to pursue Compact legislation in your state. Eight states—Maine, Michigan, North Dakota, Nebraska, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas and Washington—and the District of Columbia have Compact legislation pending. Contact Kristin Schleiter with any questions or for additional resources on the Compact.
Kentucky enacts medical review panel legislation
In March, Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin signed Senate Bill 4 (PDF), an act to establish medical review panels to review proposed malpractice complaints against physicians and other health care providers. Under Kentucky's new law, all malpractice and malpractice-related claims against a health care provider, other than those previously agreed to be submitted to arbitration, will be reviewed by a medical review panel composed of one attorney and three health care providers. An action cannot be commenced in court before the complaint has been presented to the medical review panel, and within nine months, an opinion has been given by the panel.
At the end of the review process, the panel will issue a written opinion stating whether: (a) the evidence supports the conclusion that the defendant failed to comply with the standard of care and the conduct was a substantial factor in producing a negative outcome for the patient; (b) the evidence supports the conclusion that the defendant failed to comply with the standard of care, but the conduct was not a substantial factor in producing the negative outcome; or (c) the evidence does not support the conclusion that the defendant failed to meet the standard of care. If the case proceeds to trial, this opinion, while not considered conclusive, can be admitted into evidence as an expert opinion subject to cross-examination. See the text of Senate Bill 4 (PDF) for more details.
The AMA is proud to have supported the Kentucky Medical Association's (KMA) multiyear effort to enact this legislation, and congratulates KMA on its success.
Opioid prescriptions continue to decline
For the fourth consecutive year, total opioid prescriptions have declined in the United States, according to new data from Quintiles IMS. From 2013 to 2016, there was a national 14.6 percent decrease in retail filled prescriptions. Every state saw a decrease. In 2016, there were 215.1 million opioid prescriptions, down from 251.8 million in 2013.
For more information, including a state-by-state breakdown, contact Daniel Blaney-Koen.
