Sacramento Meeting of the California Medical Board

Am up in very hot Sacramento for the quarterly meeting of the California Medical Board. I serve as a public member appointed by the Senate Rules Committee.

The mission of the Medical Board is to protect healthcare consumers through the proper licensing and regulation of physicians and surgeons and certain allied healthcare professionals (not nurses)through the vigorous,objective enforcement of the Medical Practice Act. The Board also promotes access to quality medical care through the Board's licensing and regulatory functions.

My appointment requires that I review numerous discipline and licensing cases as well as serve on a number of subcommittees of the Board: Enforcement, Application Review, Supervision of Affiliated Health Care Professionals and Access to Care.

The 15 member Board (13 appointed by the Governor; 1 by the Speaker of the Assembly and 1 (me) by the Senate Rules Committee) has approved holding a quarterly meeting in November in Long Beach. This will be the first time in the history of the Board that the meeting has been held in Long Beach. I have asked Memorial Medical Center to host two day meeting in its new Childrens' Hospital.

By the way, the Board does now require physicians to post notices in their offices informing patients that they are regulated by the Board. The notice must also include the telephone number and website of the California Medical Board so that patients know where to file complaints.