Before the Joint Committee on Public Health
The Massachusetts Medical Society is concerned about this
legislation which would allow the Board of Registration in
Medicine's disciplinary unit the right to perform unannounced
inspections of any physician's office at any time during working
hours with no justification. The bill would give the disciplinary
unit the right to inspect offices to determine that the office is
"clean and sanitary". Disciplinary unit investigative staff
would also be empowered to check that a physician has "all
appropriate and necessary equipment as determined by the board and
that patient records are maintained in accordance with applicable
laws and regulations."
The Board of Registration in Medicine is a powerful state
agency. It is well funded and staffed. In the last ten years,
the Board's budget and staff have expanded tremendously. T he
Board's activities are funded by physicians' licensing fees which
have also increased significantly in this period.
The Board has a more than adequate staff to investigate
disciplinary matters, whether they come as the result of public
complaints, anonymous complaints, reviews of medical malpractice
cases, mandated error reports, arrest records, physician license
application reviews or other sources. The Board is active in
its demands on physicians to respond to filed complaints. The
Board may even demand that a physician come to the Board on short
notice to address a complaint, without even telling the physician
the name of the complainant or in some cases even the specifics of
the alleged offense. The Board has subpoena powers spelled
out in Chapter 112 Section 5.
The MMS is unaware of the genesis of this legislation. We
do suggest that random cleanliness inspections of physicians'
offices by the Board of Registration in Medicine's trained
investigators and prosecuting attorneys is an extremely inefficient
use of expensive personnel. We also believe that patients
have a right to reasonable confidentiality of their medical
records. No patient should have their medical records
reviewed by a state agency without their consent. Exceptions to
this basic right should be narrow and exercised through the
courts.
An efficient and well run Board of Registration in Medicine is
necessary for the protection of the public and to ensure the
competence of the profession. The MMS has supported full
funding for the Board and initiated the legislation creating the
public profiles at the Board. This legislation simply goes too far
in erasing the due process rights of licensed physicians and
expanding the Board's authority. The MMS urges the legislature not
to create an absolute power to initiate inspections of any
physician they choose in the disciplinary unit of the Board of
Registration in Medicine. The Board staff already have considerable
powers over licensees and are very aggressive in their
investigations of all complaints and reports.
The MMS urges the Committee on Public Health to reject this
legislation.
