PROPOSED RULEMAKING
STATE BOARD OF MEDICINE
[49 PA. CODE CH. 16]
Continuing Medical Education
[34 Pa.B. 56] The State Board of Medicine (Board) proposes to amend § 16.1 (relating to definitions) and add § 16.19 (relating to continuing medical education) to read as set forth in Annex A.
Effective Date
The proposed rulemaking will be effective upon final-form publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The Legislature has required that the Board promulgate regulations within 6 months of the effective date of section 910 of the Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error (MCARE) Act (act) (40 P. S. § 1303.910).
Statutory Authority
Under section 910 of the act, the Board is required to establish requirements for continuing medical education for physicians as a condition for renewal of their licenses. Physicians are required to complete 100 credit hours of mandatory continuing medical education during each 2-year licensure period.
Background and Purpose
The proposed rulemaking will implement section 910 of the act, which requires completion of 100 credit hours of continuing education as a condition of biennial license renewal of physician licenses by the Board and the State Board of Osteopathic Medicine.
Description of Proposed Rulemaking
The proposed rulemaking requires proof of completion of 100 credit hours of continuing medical education as a condition of license renewal and requires that at least 20 of the 100 hours be American Medical Association Physician Recognition Award category 1 credits and that at least 10 credit hours must be in the areas of patient safety and risk management. Courses in the areas of patient safety and risk management may include topics such as improving medical records and recordkeeping, reducing medical errors, professional conduct and ethics, improving communications, preventative medicine and healthcare quality improvement. The proposed rulemaking further designates the Accreditation Council on Continuing Medical Education as the accrediting body for purposes of approving continuing medical education providers.
Fiscal Impact and Paperwork Requirements
The proposed rulemaking will require the Board to alter its license renewal forms to include data regarding the physician's compliance with the continuing education requirements and will also require physicians to maintain their own records of continuing education credits, but otherwise, should have no adverse fiscal impact on the Commonwealth or its political subdivisions.
Sunset Date
The Board continuously monitors the cost effectiveness of its regulations. Therefore, no sunset date has been assigned.
Regulatory Review
Under section 5(a) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5(a)), on December 16, 2003, the Board submitted a copy of this proposed rulemaking and a copy of a Regulatory Analysis Form to the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) and to the Chairpersons of the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee and the House Professional Licensure Committee. A copy of this material is available to the public upon request.
Under section 5(g) of the Regulatory Review Act, IRRC may convey any comments, recommendations or objections to the proposed rulemaking within 30 days of the close of the public comment period. The comments, recommendations or objections shall specify the regulatory review criteria which have not been met. The Regulatory Review Act specifies detailed procedures for review, prior to final publication of the rulemaking, by the Board, the General Assembly and the Governor of comments, recommendations or objections raised.
Public Comment
Interested persons are invited to submit written comments, recommendations or objections regarding the proposed rulemaking to Amy L. Nelson, Counsel, State Board of Medicine, P. O. Box 2649, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2649 within 30 days following publication of this proposed rulemaking in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
CHARLES D. HUMMER, Jr., M.D.,
ChairpersonFiscal Note: 16A-4914. No fiscal impact; (8) recommends adoption.
Annex A
TITLE 49. PROFESSIONAL AND
VOCATIONAL STANDARDS
PART I. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Subpart A. PROFESSIONAL AND
OCCUPATIONAL AFFAIRS
CHAPTER 16. STATE BOARD OF MEDICINE--GENERAL PROVISIONS
Subchapter A. BASIC DEFINITIONS AND INFORMATION § 16.1 Definitions.
The following words and terms, when used in this chapter and Chapters 17 and 18 (relating to State Board of Medicine--medical doctors; and State Board of Medicine--practitioners other than medical doctors), have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
ACCME--The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education.
AMA--American Medical Association.
AMA PRA--American Medical Association Physician's Recognition Award.
* * * * * Approved course--A continuing medical education course offered by a provider accredited by the ACCME.
* * * * * Immediate family member--A parent, spouse, child or adult sibling residing in the same household.
* * * * *
Subchapter B. GENERAL LICENSE, CERTIFICATION AND REGISTRATION PROVISIONS § 16.19. Continuing medical education.
Beginning with the licensure renewal period commencing January 1, 2005, proof of completion of 100 credit hours of continuing medical education in the preceding biennial period will be required for licensure renewal for medical doctors.
(1) At least 20 credit hours shall be completed in AMA PRA category 1 approved courses. At least 10 credit hours shall be completed in approved courses in the area of patient safety and risk management. Approved courses in the area of patient safety and risk management may include topics such as improving medical records and recordkeeping, reducing medical errors, professional conduct and ethics, improving communications, preventative medicine and healthcare quality improvement. The remaining 70 credit hours shall be completed in any approved courses. Credit will not be granted for courses in office management or practice building.
(2) Physicians shall retain official documentation of attendance for 2 years after renewal, and shall certify completed courses on a form provided by the Board for that purpose, to be filed with the biennial renewal form. Official documentation proving attendance shall be produced, upon Board demand, under random audits of reported credit hours. Electronic submission of documentation is permissible to prove compliance with this subsection. Noncompliance may result in disciplinary proceedings under section 41(6) of the Medical Practice Act of 1985 (63 P. S. § 422.41(6)).
(3) The following exemptions apply for certain physicians:
(i) A physician applying for licensure in this Commonwealth for the first time shall be exempt from the continuing medical education requirement for the biennial renewal period following initial licensure.
(ii) A physician holding a current temporary training license shall be exempt from the continuing medical education requirement.
(iii) A retired physician who provides care only to immediate family members shall be exempt from the continuing medical education requirement.
(iv) A physician who is on inactive status shall be exempt from the continuing medical education requirement, except that a physician who is seeking to reinstate an inactive or lapsed license shall show proof of compliance with the continuing education requirement for the preceding biennium.
(4) A physician suspended for disciplinary reasons is not exempt from the requirements of this section.
(5) Waiver of the CME requirements may be permitted, as follows:
(i) The Board may grant a hardship waiver of all or a part of the continuing medical education requirement in cases of serious illness, military service or other good cause provided that the public's safety and welfare will not be jeopardized by the granting of the waiver.
(ii) Requests for waiver shall be made in writing, with appropriate documentation, and shall include a description of circumstances sufficient to show why compliance is impossible.
(iii) Waiver requests will be evaluated by the Board on a case-by-case basis. The Board will send written notification of its approval or denial of a waiver request.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 04-16. Filed for public inspection January 2, 2004, 9:00 a.m.]
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