Accountability in California State Health Boards and Legislation That Can Help

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Deborah Snow

The recent trend in California is the effort by consumer advocates to improve accountability in the State health care boards. Capitol Weekly on June 12 discussed Julia Fellmeth, the director of the Center of Public Interest Law, and her effort to change the way professional boards operate in California. “Fellmeth said her mission is simple: to put power in the hands of the public.” Fellmeth is also quoted in the article as saying “state boards have sought mainly to protect the professionals they are supposed to be monitoring instead of the public.”

Senator Ridley-Thomas, chair of the committee regulating business and professions, has continuously taken a proactive position in Board reform and has recently enacted several pieces of legislation that will provide necessary safeguards for the public. His Senate Bill 1141 would establish new standards for the oversight, testing and discipline of physicians and others in the medical profession who have substance abuse problems.

The medical boards’ diversion program is meant to help impaired physicians receive appropriate treatment while safeguarding the public; however five in-depth audits have verified that the program has allowed impaired physicians to continue treating patients leading to extreme harm. SB 1141 would require medical boards that use diversion programs along with Department of Consumer Affairs to establish strong standards for the rehabilitation of physicians with substance abuse problems. The Senator states “The Medical Board of California’s Diversion Program offers a prime example of the failures associated with an improperly administered program. It appears the Board would rather protect their own than safeguard the public from impaired doctors.” (Senators’ website 5/12/08)

Another of Ridley-Thomas’ bills, SB797, would allow the Board of Behavioral Science to take action to revoke a license of a therapist in certain cases of sexual abuse of a minor, closing a loophole that currently exists. The bill would allow the revocation even in cases when the current statute of limitations has passed and would be viable even if the abuse occurred before the therapist was licensed. “A June 2007, ‘Los Angeles Times’ article cited a case in which a licensed educational psychologist in the Los Angeles school system allegedly molested a boy hundreds of times over a seven-year period. The Board was unable to revoke the psychologist’s license because the alleged acts occurred prior to the time the individual became licensed by the Board.” (Senator’ website 6/9/08) Fortunately these two crucial bills enacted by Senator Ridley-Thomas have had support by both political parties and are likely to be signed into law by the Governor.