Virginia's medical board tightens discipline process

Virginia's Board of Medicine has decided to give staff members broader authority over certain disciplinary cases in an effort to cut a huge backlog of unaddressed complaints. Right now, more than 2,000 complaints await the Board's attention, although many involve allegations of misconduct posing little risk to patients, such as improper advertising. Over the past few years, violations were found in less than 15 percent of such cases. Now, to keep these more-minor complaints from clogging up the system, the Board has given staff members the authority to close such cases if the staffer finds there's not enough evidence to support the complaint. If the staffer finds enough evidence to pursue the matter, the full Board will get involved. Meanwhile, the Board will continue to oversee cases which involve serious complaints.

To find out more about the VA board's decision:
- read this Modern Healthcare item [1] (reg. req.)

Related Article:
Study: Medical board discipline varies widely. Report [2]