Texas Physicians Urge Governor to Sign Medical Board Changes

Texas Physicians Urge Governor to Sign Medical Board Changes

Important changes included in the three bills do the following:

• Prohibit the filing of all anonymous complaints;
• Require the board to notify the physician when insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, or third-party administrators file a complaint;
• Increase the time for a physician to respond to a complaint notice from 30 days to 45 days;
• Allow TMB to require a remedial action plan rather than impose a fine for a minor administrative violation;
• Allow physicians to tape the proceedings of a TMB informal settlement conference;
• Institute a seven-year statute of limitations on bringing a disciplinary action, mirroring the TMB rule on how long doctors need to keep a patient’s medical record; and
• Bind TMB to the ruling of an administrative law judge in a proceeding supervised by the State Office of Administrative Hearings.