Chapter 124

"I need your help my friend" Joseph finally spoke up, initially not knowing how to present himself, but it could be worse than what he was about to face.

"What is it?

I need to know, if the child she is carrying is mine;

"But how am I to find that out, she is the only one that should be able to answer us"

"She may not want to give me the answer I need, she may want to lie or something, but j need to know please help me"

"I will try my best, but if it is not possible, then I am sorry, there is nothing can I do.

The medical board already sent us a letter, it was addressed to the hospital; 

Joseph smiled sadly, he had expected them to reply for long, the had kept quiet for too long.

"What did they say? He finally asked.

He handed him the brown long envelope he was holding.

"All this for me? He asked, 

"You know how they reply, they would start by reminding you of their history and structure, before stating your punishment, that is done incase you have forgotten, well I don't want to be here, take your time and try to rest, I will see you in the morning.

"Thanks" Joseph said, and waited for him to be out of sight before he opened the file.

Just as Doctor Walter have said, it was a full script of all that the state medical board covers.

He didn't want to jump the bothers so he started from the first page which includes a brief history of the board, and how they came to be.

'Dear Doctor Joseph Mason Mark. With the licencing number 03999. Read carefully and sign accordingly.

History of the FSMB

In 1912, the FSMB was created (4). The FSMB is a nonprofit organization that now represents all 70 SMBs and osteopathic licensing boards in the United States and its territories. Its functions include sponsorship (along with the National Board of Medical Examiners) of the U.S. Medical Licensing Exam and the creation and maintenance of the Federation Physician Data Center, a repository of U.S. physician licensing and credentialing information. The FSMB also assists medical boards in the creation of policies, advocacy, and research that shapes health care quality, physician regulation, and continuing medical education (5). The FSMB has evolved over the years and is seen as a prominent resource for medical boards today.

Do you agree that you are aware that

Under the unenumerated powers of the Tenth Amendment, a state has the power to protect the health, safety, and welfare of its citizenry (2). This police power gives states the authority to create and maintain regulatory agencies such as SMBs. In Dent v.

West Virginia, a unanimous Supreme Court confirmed that states can regulate medicine and other professions via professional licensing boards (3). North Carolina was one of the first states to create a medical board; it passed a medical practice act in 1859.

An applicant need not have attended medical school but had to be at least 25 years old, pay $10, and pass the state board exam (4). By 1910, nearly all states had licensing boards.(with all his knowledge, Joseph realised he hadn't fully read this before, even though it was one of the documents given to them as they swear in)

Up until the 1960s, state boards tended to view physician regulation and discipline as a secondary effort and primarily focused on “unlicensed practitioners and defending the physicians’ statutory scope of practice against incursions by other health professions” (4, p. 156). However, the AMA released a report in 1961 that criticized state boards for failing to pursue discipline against physicians and called for increased transparency in the disciplinary process (4). The 1960s and 1970s subsequently saw an increased push for public accountability. In response to this increased pressure for accountability and increased focus on evidence-based medicine, state boards evolved to include members of the public (by 1999, all but three boards had public members); to formalize investigative and disciplinary processes; and to increase involvement and oversight of physician licensure, maintenance of licensure, and other regulatory functions (4). Advances and improvements in undergraduate and graduate medical education, along with an increased focus on evidence-based medicine, allowed SMBs to create and propagate essential standards of practice for physicians in a given state, often through the administration of SMB exams. Despite this progress, medical boards today have continued to face scrutiny from the public and advocacy groups regarding rigor of the disciplinary process and detection of unethical or incompetent practices, with calls for increased transparency and enhanced protection of consumers.

Joseph sighed as he read through, it was not enoydealkng with the anger issues of the Anderson, the board were not even okay with just allowing the family deal with him, they were also going to deal with him as a member of the medical family.

He flipped to the next page and continued reading.

He would have flipped past, but he was scared to find out what his punishment would be, so he took his time to read each page carefully.

Each jurisdiction has a medical practice act (MPA) that governs the practice of medicine in the state and authorizes medical boards or other entities to issue licenses and regulate physician conduct. Although MPAs vary somewhat from state to state, the FSMB recommends that a model MPA invest boards with the power to “determine a physician’s initial and continuing qualification and fitness for the practice of medicine” as well as “to initiate proceedings against unprofessional, improper, incompetent, unlawful, fraudulent, deceptive, or unlicensed practice of medicine, and enforce the provisions of the medical practice act and related rules” (6). Unprofessional conduct is a broad category and may include alcohol/substance use, sexual misconduct, conviction of a felony, fraud, inadequate record keeping, failing to meet continuing medical education requirements, deviating from the standard of care, prescribing drugs negligently, and others (7). Acts that the physician commits that are unrelated to his or her medical practice might also be considered in pursuing disciplinary action, including crimes of “moral turpitude.” For example, in Haley v. Medical Disciplinary Board, the Washington Supreme Court held that a physician’s conviction for tax fraud raised a “reasonable apprehension” that he might be dishonest or abuse the trust of his patients and, therefore, was fair game in pursuing a disciplinary action (8). The broad discretion of an SMB in pursuing complaints and demanding access, even to physicians’ own treatment records, has led physicians in some circumstances to avoid seeking treatment for mental illness or impairment, for fear that they could face scrutiny by the SMB and/or lose their source of livelihood