2014-2015 Annual Report ARIZONA MEDICAL BOARD LEADERSHIP Richard T. Perry, M.D. Chair, Physician Member James M. Gillard, M.D. Vice-Chair, Physician Member Jodi A. Bain, Esq. Secretary, Public Member Marc D. Berg, M.D. Physician Member Donna Brister Public Member R. Screven Farmer, M.D. Physician Member Gary R. Figge, M.D. Physician Member Robert E. Fromm, M.D. Physician Member Paul S. Gerding, Esq. Public Member Lois E. Krahn, M.D. Physician Member Edward G. Paul, M.D. Physician Member Wanda J. Salter, R.N. Nurse/Public Member Mission: To protect the public safety through the judicious licensing, regulation and education of all allopathic physicians. 9545 E. Doubletree Ranch Road | Scottsdale | AZ 85258 480-551-2700 | 877-255-2212 | www.azmd.gov Patricia E. McSorley Executive Director Arizona Medical Board Membership The Arizona Medical Board ("Board") is committed to serving the public through the honest, fair, and judicious licensing and regulation of allopathic physicians ("MDs"). The Board is comprised of 12 members - eight physicians and four public members including a licensed registered nurse. They are as follows: Richard T. Perry, M.D. Chair, Physician Member James M. Gillard, M.S., M.D., F.A.C.E.P., F.A.A.E.M. Vice-Chair, Physician Member Jodi A. Bain, Esq. Secretary, Public Member Marc D. Berg, M.D., F.A.A.P. Physician Member Donna Brister Public Member R. Screven Farmer, M.D. Physician Member Gary R. Figge, M.D. Physician Member Robert E. Fromm, Jr., M.D., M.P.H. Physician Member Paul S. Gerding, Esq. Public Member Lois Krahn, M.D. Physician Member Edward G. Paul, M.D. Physician Member Wanda Salter, R.N., BScN Public Member/Registered Nurse More information on individual Board Members can be found on the Arizona Medical Board's website at: http://www.azmd.gov/BoardMembers/ index.aspx. 2014-2015 Annual Report | Arizona Medical Board www.azmd.gov Licensing The Board issued 1,137 initial full MD licenses in Fiscal Year ("FY") 2015, with an average of 27 days to approve a license. THe Board also issued 1,383 Post-Graduate Training Permits, and an additional 46 miscellaneous licenses, consisting of Pro Bono, Locum Tenens and Teaching Licenses. Along with 716 dispensing certificates. Initial Full MD Licenses Average # of Days to Approve a License Post Graduate Training Permits Miscellaneous Licenses Dispensing Certificates Customer Satisfaction FY2014 1184 33 1477 76 595 91% FY2015 1137 27 1383 46 716 82% The Board regulates MDs under the Arizona Medical Practice Act and is responsible for investigating patient complaints against their licenses. When an investigation substantiates a violation of the Medical Practice Act, the Board uses its authority to take appropriate action. Regulation The Board's complaint process is structured to ensure a fair and impartial investigation to resolve cases in a timely manner while maintaining the objective of the Board, to protect the public health and safety. Ultimately, the Board is bound by its charge to protect Arizona citizens from the unlawful and incompetent practice of medicine. The actions the Board takes are reflective of that mission. The Investigations Department opened a total of 1,638 complaints in FY 2015, showing a 26.78% increase compared to 1,292 in FY 2014. The department ended the fiscal year with 759 open investigations with an average of 151 days to complete an investigation. During FY 2015 the Board held a total of 33 meetings* in which 55 disciplinary actions (see chart on next page) were taken. Disciplinary actions taken against a licensee are public and since the effect of these actions can have on a physician are long-lasting, the Board takes all complaints against physicians seriously. Of the actions taken there were 15 Letter of Reprimands, 1 Decree of Censure, 1 Practice Restriction, 18 Probationary Orders, 1 Order of Suspension, 9 Licenses Surrendered, 1 Inactivation with Cause, 6 Summary Suspensions, and 3 Revocations of License. *Meetings consist of Regular Session, Special Teleconference, Committee/Subcommittee, Offsite Planning and Summary Actions. 2014-2015 Annual Report | Arizona Medical Board www.azmd.gov Regulation continuted... The Executive Director ("ED") issued 15 Interim Practice Restrictions in accordance with the ED's delegated authorities. In partnership with the Attorney General's Office, the Board resolved 84% of all final disciplinary actions through consent agreements. !"#$"%&"'()*+,$-.'#+ Some Board Orders are issued with multiple sanctions. For the purpose of this Annual Report, these actions are counted as the highest level of discipline. For example, a Letter of Reprimand with Probation would be counted as a Probationary action. Of the actions that can be combined, they are ranked as follows: ●Practice Restriction ●Probation ●Decree of Censure ●Letter of Reprimand !"#$%&#'( )*+"**(#,(-*'./"*( 0'%+&1*(2345(-%/.*( 6/.7*'.3#'( 8*9*"(#,(:*7"3;%'<( 6/""*'<*"(#,(83+*'.*( :*1#+%&#'( 6/;;%"=(:*.4"3+&#'>6/.7*'.3#'( !"%+&+*(:*.4"3+&#'( 0'4*"3;(!"%+&+*(:*.4"3+&#'( Out of the 185 total number of actions issued by the Board, a vast majority were non-disciplinary actions (see graph below). These include 98 Advisory Letters, 8 Advisory Letters with Continuing Medical Education ("CME") Orders, 2 CME Orders and 2 Non-Disciplinary Surrenders of License. The ED also issued 5 Interim Practice Limitations. !"#$%&'(&)*&#+,-./(0"#'. !"#$%&'()*+,+'%) !"#$%&'()*+,+'%)-.)/01) 2'"+'%) /01)2'"+'%) 3&456$%7$89$4:'() ;<''+4"+')&=)*$7+4%+) >4?+'$@)A':7B7+) *$@$?:B&4%) 2014-2015 Annual Report | Arizona Medical Board www.azmd.gov The Board had a turnover of 4 full-time employees from the Executive Office, Support Services, and Licensing Department in FY 2015. This is a 8.7% turnover ratio of the Board's 46 employees. The Board also had a total of 33 contracted employees for FY 2015, with a turnover of 19 contracted employees, resulting in a 57.6% turnover ratio. This was 7 from the Executive Office, 7 from the Licensing Department, 1 from the Investigations Department, 2 from the Information Technology Department, and 2 from the Board Operations Department. Human Resources The Board hired 3 full-time Investigators in FY 2015 (2 in September 2014, 1 in June 2015). All 3 have attended Investigator Training in August of 2015 as required by A.R.S. § 32-1405. *Note: In the contracted numbers, any contracted employee hired by the agency is not considered as turnover in the numbers reflected. The Information Technology ("IT") Office remains committed to serving the business operations of the Board by being a proactive leader, identifying issues and offering innovative solutions to enable the agency to accomplish their goals and provide quality services to our customers more effectively and efficiently. The IT Office continues to exceed internal and external service expectations by the implementation of leading-edge solutions in line with established best practices. There have been many technological advances made in FY 2015, as highlighted below. Much time and effort was spent on protecting the confidentiality and integrity, and improving the availability of our Agency's information resources. The IT Office made many improvements that were implemented including: an Agency Service Desk System that helped improve agency efficiency and problem solving, many improved network infrastructure solutions, and are currently finalizing the implementation of an Online Initial License MD Application process for our licensees. The Board's physician database is more than a compilation of information, it is the primary application from which the Agency operates and through which public information is disseminated. The Board received a total of 18,704 views to its Meeting Streaming Media Archive, including live and prior Board Meetings. There were many advancement's made over the course of the past year that focused on improving the overall functionality of the business driven application. The IT Office plans to continue developing technological methods to automate and streamline current processes and intends to find more ways to leverage the Web for additional online service delivery which will promote increased efficiency. 2014-2015 Annual Report | Arizona Medical Board www.azmd.gov Information Technology