Licensure

TMA Legislative News Hotline: Friday, Aug. 11, 2017 - 07/10/2018

TMB Renewal Avoids Doomsday Scenario — Finally

Unmatched Talent - 07/10/2018

TMA's physician leaders aren't ready for alternative licensing path for unmatched medical graduates. "The issue is not the need for a separate licensure path. The issue is residency spots, and we need to remain focused on this.”

Oppose Overly Punitive Medical Licensing Bill - 04/27/2018

As filed, this bill would prevent the licensure of any physician who “has been subject to disciplinary action with respect to a medical license by any licensing entity in the five years preceding the date of application.” If enacted, this provision would disqualify ANY physician for medical licensure if they were subject to ANY disciplinary action with respect to a medical license by ANY licensing  entity in five years preceding application.

Allow Interstate Compact for Medical Licensure - 04/27/2018

Support House Bill 661 by Zerwas: The goal of the legislation is to make it easier for qualified physicians to obtain medical licensure in multiple states…. in an expedited, streamlined manner. This may have a number of benefits, including increasing physician participation in telemedicine care. And it may well increase our ability to attract physicians to relocate and practice in our state.

DPS Automatically Renewed Current, Active CSR Permits - 04/20/2018

Senate Bill 195 by Sen. Charles Schwertner, MD (R-Georgetown), and Rep. Myra Crownover (R-Denton) eliminates the controlled substances registration (CSR) permit program, effective Sept. 1, 2016. To implement the change, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) says it automatically renewed all active or current CSRs on Aug. 20, 2015. They will expire on Aug. 31, 2016. DPS adds that it will not mail new certificates with automatic renewals.

A Bump in the Road? Trucker Med Exam Registry Down - 02/13/2018

The online registry for physicians to become certified medical examiners for interstate commercial drivers — such as bus drivers and truckers — has been down for more than two months, an official with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) said. Physicians use that same system to upload the results of the drivers’ medical exams.

MOC Amounts to Mandate for Physicians - 05/09/2017

The MOC program began in the mid-90s and granted physicians who completed their training before that date a lifetime board certification, while the remainder of Texas physicians must participate in MOC or lose their ability to care for patients and sustain a practice. For the attorneys on the committee, this is like retaking your high-stakes bar exam every 10 years. Most physicians feel initial board certification is necessary to validate expertise following residency and training programs. However, we find the continuous maintenance of certification process to be burdensome, expensive, and filled with irrelevant curriculum. Most importantly, this process steals valuable time from our patients and our practice. 

Protect Employed Physicians’ Clinical Autonomy - 05/02/2017

Current law requires the Texas Medical Board to receive and investigate complaints against licensees. But it does not require the board to receive and investigate complaints against the entities it certifies. This bill addresses that. Patient care has always been the intent of this bill, and protecting physicians employed by these groups from retaliation when they advocate for patient care is a proper way of effecting that intent.

Physical Therapy in a Physician’s Office - 03/16/2017

Is it legal for me or one of my employees to perform “physical therapy” within the confines of my medical practice office, or would that violate a licensing code?

Texas Medical Board Legislative One Pager - 02/03/2017

TMA has long advocated for a strong but fair Texas Medical Board (TMB). A strong and fair TMB protects the patients of Texas, upholds high ethical and professional standards for physicians, helps to preserve the significant health care tort reforms enacted in 2003, and maintains the professional image of all Texas physicians. In the 2017 Texas Legislature, the TMB is undergoing sunset review – the once-every-12-years process by which lawmakers examine the effectiveness and efficiency of a state agency and determine whether to continue it for another 12 years. The sunset process provides TMA and Texas physicians with an opportunity to improve TMB’s licensing and disciplinary operations.

TMA, AMA: TMB Has Authority to Set Telemedicine Rules - 10/10/2016

In a 42-page brief jointly filed with a federal appeals court, TMA and the American Medical Association argue that federal antitrust regulation does not prevent the Texas Medical Board (TMB) from establishing rules that regulate the practice of telemedicine in Texas. At issue is a TMB rule that establishes the requirement that, as described in the brief, "Dangerous drugs and controlled substances … may not be prescribed by a physician who has not either physically examined a patient or examined a patient electronically with the assistance of a qualified medical professional who is physically present with the patient."

TMA Urges TMB to Withdraw Disciplinary Hearing Rules - 10/10/2016

TMA is not impressed with the Texas Medical Board's (TMB's) proposed new rules concerning informal show compliance proceedings and informal settlement conferences (ISCs). TMA tells TMB in a letter the association wants an overhaul of the ISC process to make it more fair and transparent. TMA's letter expresses strong opposition to the proposed rule and states "instead of allowing the process to become fairer and more transparent, the proposed rule makes ISCs more like a formal administrative hearing without the guaranteed accompanying protections."

Follow the Law When You Advertise Board Certification - 06/23/2016

Follow the Law When You Advertise Board Certification

Another Post-Tort Reform Record for New Texas Physicians - 06/22/2016

As it has for four of the past seven years, the Texas Medical Board licensed a record number of new physicians for the fiscal year that ended Aug. 31, surging past the 4,000 mark for the first time in history.

Tell Congress to Continue, Expand Conrad 30 Program - 06/22/2016

Congress is back to work after its annual August recess, and the continuation of the Conrad 30 Program is on the "to-do" list. Without congressional action, the Conrad 30 Program will expire on Sept. 30, 2015. This program allows certain international medical graduate physicians who trained in the United States on J-1 visas to obtain a waiver of the two-year home residence requirement. In exchange for the waiver, the physician must work for at least three years treating medically underserved populations in the United States. Many communities rely heavily on international medical graduate physicians for their primary care needs.

Caring Across State Lines - 05/25/2016

The proposed Interstate Medical Licensure Compact would expedite the process to obtain a license to practice medicine in any state that participates in the compact, making it easier for physicians to move from state to state or to practice telemedicine.

Victory! CSR Permit Program to Be Eliminated Next Year - 05/12/2016

Thanks to TMA advocacy this legislative session, the controlled substances registration permit program will be eliminated, effective Sept. 1, 2016. Senate Bill 195 by Sen. Charles Schwertner, MD (R-Georgetown), and Rep. Myra Crownover (R-Denton) also moves the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program from the Texas Department of Public Safety to the Texas State Board of Pharmacy and broadens physicians' authority to delegate who can access the information.

TMB Starts Remedial Plan System - 05/12/2016

The Texas Medical Board (TMB) has implemented fairness provisions of a new state law – backed by TMA – that allows physicians named in complaints to resolve their cases with a "remedial plan" rather than a formal disciplinary action.

TMB Seeks Doctors to Serve as Advisory Committee Members - 05/12/2016

Senate Bill 202 by Sen. Jane Nelson (R-Flower Mound), which passed this legislative session, transferred to the Texas Medical Board (TMB) licensing and regulation of medical physicists, medical radiologic technologists, perfusionists, and respiratory care practitioners. The legislation calls for advisory committees to be formed for licensing of perfusionists and medical physicists. The members of the committees must be appointed by TMB President Michael Arambula, MD. TMB is now accepting applications for those interested in member positions on those committees.

TMA Weighs in on Proposed TMB Rules - 05/12/2016

TMA has been busy submitting comments on proposed Texas Medical Board rules. TMA President Tom Garcia, MD, signed three separate comment letters, which pertain to out-of-network claim dispute resolution; a monitoring, proctoring, or supervising physician/professional's recommendation for competency assessment; and visiting physician temporary permits.

TMA Knowledge Center Helps With Board Certification - 05/12/2016

Does your board certification process require journal articles? The TMA Knowledge Center can help you by obtaining articles and performing custom research requests.

DPS Begins to Synch Controlled Substance Permit Renewals - 06/10/2015

Following a three-month delay, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) reports it is beginning to synchronize physicians' controlled substances registration expiration dates with their Texas Medical Board license expiration dates.

DPS Announces Interim CSR Renewal Solution - 05/06/2014

On Jan. 1, renewal of controlled substances registration (CSR) permits issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) should have become part of physicians' biennial online medical license renewal with the Texas Medical Board. TMA advocated passage of House Bill 1803 by Rep. Bill Callegari (R-Katy) and Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston) to ease the administrative hassle and red tape on physicians when they renew their CSR permits and to avoid interruptions in patient care and in physicians' practices due to inadvertent expirations.