SB 155 — Relating to the Board of Medical Examiners; to amend Sections 34-24-50.1 and 34-24-70, Code of Alabama 1975, to provide further for qualifications for licensure as a physician; and to add Section 34-24-75.2 to the Code of Alabama 1975, to authorize the board to issue permits for certain medical school graduates to practice medicine in a limited capacity for a limited time as bridge year graduate physicians.

SB155 INTRODUCEDENROLLED P6OLEE-1P6OLEE-2 By Senator Weaver RFD:

04-Apr-23 2023 Regular Session Page 0 P6OLEE-1SB155 04/04/2023Enrolled PMGEnrolled, (L)tgwAn 2023-1190Act, 23 4Relating SYNOPSIS:to the Board of Medical Examiners;

Under existing law, a postgraduate of a medical college that is not accredited must complete three years of postgraduate or residency training in order to qualify for licensure by the Medical Licensure Commission as a physician.

This bill would change the postgraduate or residency training requirement to two years of training.

Under existing law, applicants for licensure as a physician who have not passed certain examinations within the 10-year period immediately preceding the date of application must take a prescribed examination with a passing score in order to qualify for licensure.

This bill would remove this requirement.

This bill would also authorize the Board of Medical Examiners to issue permits to individuals who have completed medical school but have not been accepted into a postgraduate or residency training program to practice under the supervision of a licensed physician for one year, would establish certain criteria for the permitting of these individuals, would authorize the board to convene a working group to assist in drafting rules relating to the practice of bridge year graduate physicians, and would authorize Page 1 SB155 INTRODUCED bridge year graduate physicians to prescribe and administer certain drugs in certain circumstances.

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT Relating to the Board of Medical Examiners;

Either a doctor of medicine or a Page 2 SB155 INTRODUCED doctor of osteopathy.

Federal Law prohibits dispensing without a prescription" or similar words indicating that the drug, medicine, chemical, or poison may be sold or dispensed only upon the prescription of a licensed Page 1 SB155 Enrolled medical practitioner, except that the term legend drug shall not include any drug, substance, or compound that is listed in Schedules I through V of the Alabama Uniform Controlled Substances Act.

A college of medicine or school of medicine not accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education which Page 3 SB155 INTRODUCED is approved by the Board of Medical Examinersboard.

Has had its authorization, certification, or Page 2 SB155 Enrolled licensure revoked or withdrawn by a national or regional governmental supervisory agency;

Has been denied approval or has had its approval withdrawn by any national, state, or territorial licensing 95 jurisdiction based upon an evaluation of the college of medicine or upon a finding of misconduct by the college;

A program accredited by the Accreditation Committee Page 4 SB155 INTRODUCED of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

All other applicants for a certificate of qualification who graduated from a college of medicine not accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education or a Page 3 SB155 Enrolled college of osteopathy not accredited by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation shall present evidence satisfactory to the board that the applicant has completed three two years of postgraduate or residency training in any of the following programs:

A program accredited by the Accreditation Committee 95 of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Page 5 SB155 INTRODUCED b.

If the examination was completed before January 1, Page 4 SB155 Enrolled 2000, applicants by endorsement who are licensed in another state, the District of Columbia, a territory of the United States, or a province of Canada are eligible for licensure upon proof of a passing score on one of the following examinations:

In addition to other requirements established by law and for the purpose of determining an applicant's suitability for a certificate of qualification for a license to practice medicine,medicine or for the purpose of determining an applicant's suitability for the issuance of, or certification of eligibility for, any expedited license, each applicant shall submit to a criminal history background check.

Page 6 SB155 INTRODUCED Each applicant shall submit a complete set of fingerprintsfingerprints, either inked cards or electronically, properly executed by a law enforcement agency or an individual properly trained in fingerprinting techniques Page 5 SB155 Enrolled to the State Board of Medical Examiners, or any channeler approved by the board.

The Stateapplicant Board of Medical Examiners shall keeppay informationdirectly received pursuant to thisthe sectionboard, confidential,or exceptits thatdesignee, suchall informationcosts receivedassociated andwith relied upon in denying the issuancebackground ofcheck arequired certificateby of qualification for a license to practice medicine in this statesection. may be disclosed as may be necessary to support the denial.

The State Board of Medical Examiners shall keep information received pursuant to this section confidential, except that such information received and relied upon in denying the issuance of a certificate of qualification for a license to practice medicine in this state, or relied upon in denying the issuance of, or certification of eligibility for, any expedited license may be disclosed as may be necessary to support the denial.

Page 6 SB155 Enrolled 1.

Be certified by or achieve a passing score on a Page 7 SB155 INTRODUCED recertification examination given by one of the specialty boards approved by the American Board of Medical Specialties or one of the specialty boards approved by the American Osteopathic Association within 10 years immediately preceding the date of the application.

Applicants who are applying for licensure in Alabama who are required to take the examination under another Page 7 SB155 Enrolled provision of this section.

Individuals required to take the examination pursuant to an order or directive of the State Board of Page 8 SB155 INTRODUCED Medical Examiners board or the Medical Licensure Commission.

(5) A finding by the board that the applicant has Page 8 SB155 Enrolled committed any of the acts or offenses constituting grounds to discipline the licensee to practice medicine in this state pursuant to, but not limited to, Sections 16-47-128, Page 9 SB155 INTRODUCED 34-24-360, and 34-24-57.

The imposition of a Page 9 SB155 Enrolled non-disciplinary citation with administrative charge is considered public information and is not considered a disciplinary action against the applicant.

Page 10 SB155 INTRODUCED (e) Withdrawal of application for certificate of qualification and certificate of qualification.

(f) Each applicant for a certificate of qualification shall be a citizen of the United States or, if not a citizen Page 10 SB155 Enrolled of the United States, a person who is lawfully present in the United States with appropriate documentation from the federal government." Page 11 SB155 INTRODUCED Section 3.

One member appointed by the Board of Medical Page 11 SB155 Enrolled Examiners.

The director of a residency program appointed by the Dean of The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Page 12 SB155 INTRODUCED Medicine.

(3) Has submitted to the board an application on a form Page 12 SB155 Enrolled approved by the board.

This Page 13 SB155 INTRODUCED fee is nonrefundable once payment is received by the board.

Each applicant shall submit a complete set of fingerprintsfingerprints, toeither theinked boardcards or anyelectronically, channelerproperly approvedexecuted by a law enforcement agency or an individual properly trained in fingerprinting techniques to the board.

The board,board or its channeler, shall submit the fingerprints provided by each applicant for a permit to the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI).

CostsThe associatedapplicant withshall conductingpay adirectly criminalto historythe backgroundboard, checkor shallits bedesignee, borneall bycosts theassociated applicantwith andthe arebackground payablechecks directlyrequired toby thethis boardsection. or its designee.

(e) Upon the filing of an application in the proper form, if the board is satisfied that all requirements of the law have been met and that the application should be approved in the interest of public welfare, the board shall issue to Page 13 SB155 Enrolled the applicant a permit to practice as a bridge year graduate physician.

Every permit issued by the board shall be dated, shall be numbered in the order of issuance, Page 14 SB155 INTRODUCED and shall be signed by the chair of the board or the chair's designee.

A bridge year graduate physician may not initiate a call-in prescription in the name Page 14 SB155 Enrolled of his or her supervising physician for any drug, whether legend drug or controlled substance, which the bridge year graduate physician is not authorized to prescribe under the job description signed by his or her supervising physician and Page 15 SB155 INTRODUCED approved under this subsection, unless the drug is specifically ordered for the patient by the supervising physician, either in writing or by a verbal order which has been reduced to writing and which has been signed by the supervising physician within a time specified in the guidelines of the board.