New York Governor David A. Paterson and legislative leaders in Albany have reached agreement on a series of reforms aimed at improving access to information on disciplinary actions involving physicians, physician assistants and specialist assistants.
Under the agreement, the State Board for Professional Misconduct has five business days to make public charges against a practitioner when there is unanimous agreement on the need for a hearing and the initiation of formal proceedings against that individual. Physicians will be required to update their practice profiles (which reside at www.nydoctoprofile.com) on a timely basis, including providing information on legal actions taken against them. The legislation will also permit the New York State Department of Health to overrule confidentiality safeguards and disclose possible threats to public health that may be uncovered during the course of a disciplinary review. In addition, the legislative package extends infection control training requirements beyond practitioners, to include medical students, residents and physician assistant students. For more information, visit the Governor's Web site and www.ny.gov/governor.