Senate Bill No. 554
(By Senators Foster and Unger)
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[Introduced February 4, 2008; referred to the Committee on Health
and Human Resources; and then to the Committee on Government
Organization.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §30-14-2, §30-14-4, §30-14-5 and
§30-14-11 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all
relating generally to licensing requirements for osteopathic
physicians and surgeons; removal of inconsistent and outdated
provisions; providing that the licensing requirements for
osteopathic physicians and surgeons be clarified and updated;
and providing additional causes for revoking or suspending a
license.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §30-14-2, §30-14-4, §30-14-5 and §30-14-11 of the Code of
West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to
read as follows:
ARTICLE 14. OSTEOPATHIC PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS.
§30-14-2. Definitions.
For the purposes of this article:
(1) "Osteopathy
or osteopathic medicine and surgery"
shall
mean means that system of the healing art which places the chief
emphasis on the structural integrity of the body mechanism as being
the most important single factor in maintaining the well-being of
the organism in health and disease;
(2) "Board"
shall mean means the West Virginia Board of
Osteopathy;
(3) "Approved osteopathic college"
shall mean means a college
of osteopathy and surgery which requires as a minimum prerequisite
for admission preprofessional training of at least two years of
academic work in specified scientific subjects, as prescribed by
the board, or by the college accrediting agency of the American
Osteopathic Association,
in a standard college of arts and sciences
of equal rank with the college of arts and sciences of West
Virginia University in an accredited four-year college of arts and
sciences, and which requires for graduation a four-year course of
nine months each approved by the board in accordance with the
minimum standards established by the American Osteopathic
Association;
(4) "Approved hospital for intern training"
shall mean means
a hospital approved for
intern postdoctoral training by the board
or by the
hospital accrediting agency postdoctoral training review
body of the American Osteopathic Association;
(5) "Reciprocal endorsement"
shall mean means a duly
authenticated certificate of the board, addressed to a board or
agency of another country, state, territory, province or the
District of Columbia, vouching that a certificate of license issued
to an osteopathic physician and surgeon pursuant to the laws of
this state is currently valid and not suspended or revoked for any
cause or causes specified in this article.
§30-14-4. Licenses to practice osteopathic medicine and surgery.
Each applicant for examination by the board, with the
exception of assistants to osteopathic physicians and surgeons, as
hereinafter provided, shall submit an application therefor on forms
prepared and furnished by the board, accompanied by evidence
verified by oath and satisfactory to the board, establishing that
the applicant has satisfied the following requirements: (a) That
the applicant is eighteen years of age or over; (b) that the
applicant is of good moral character; (c) that the applicant has
graduated from an approved osteopathic college; (d) that the
applicant has submitted a letter of verification from an AOA
approved hospital stating that he has been approved for an AOA
approved internship or that the applicant is currently in an AOA
approved internship, if internship has not already been completed;
and (e) that the applicant has paid to the board a reasonable fee,
the amount of such reasonable fee to be set by the board rules.
(a) The board shall issue a license to practice osteopathic medicine and surgery to any individual who is qualified to do so in
accordance with the provisions of this article.
(b) For an individual to be licensed to practice osteopathic
medicine and surgery in this state, he or she must meet the
following requirements:
(1) He or she shall submit an application to the board on a
form provided by the board and remit to the board a reasonable
examination fee, the amount of the reasonable fee to be set by the
board. The application must, as a minimum, require a sworn and
notarized statement that the applicant is of good moral character
and that he or she is physically and mentally capable of engaging
in the practice of osteopathic medicine and surgery;
(2) He or she must have graduated and received a degree and
provide evidence of the same from a board approved college of
osteopathic medicine;
(3) He or she must have graduated and received a degree and
provide evidence of the same to the board of having successfully
completed a minimum of one year of graduate clinical training in a
program at a hospital or facility approved by the American
Osteopathic Association, American Medical Association or the board;
and
(4) He or she must pass an examination approved by the board,
which examination can be related to a national standard. The
examination shall be in the English language and be designed to ascertain an applicant's fitness to practice osteopathic medicine
and surgery. The board shall before the date of examination
determine what will constitute a passing score: Provided, That the
board, or a majority of it, may accept in lieu of an examination of
applicants the certificate of the national board of medical
examiners: Provided, however, That the board is authorized to
enter into reciprocity agreements as provided in section six of
this article, with medical licensing authorities in other states,
the District of Columbia, Canada or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
and, for an applicant who: (i) Is currently fully licensed,
excluding any temporary, conditional or restricted license or
permit, under the laws of another state or jurisdiction having
reciprocity; (ii) has been engaged on a full-time professional
basis in the practice of osteopathic medicine and surgery within
that state or jurisdiction for a period of at least five years; and
(iii) is not the subject of any pending disciplinary action by a
medical licensing board and has not been the subject of
professional discipline by a medical licensing board in any
jurisdiction, the board may permit licensure in this state by
reciprocity. If an applicant fails to pass the examination on two
occasions, he or she shall successfully complete a course of study
or training, as approved by the board, designed to improve his or
her ability to engage in the practice of osteopathic medicine and
surgery before being eligible for reexamination: Provided further, That an applicant is required to attain a passing score on all
components or steps of the examination within a period of seven
consecutive years. The board need not reject a candidate for a
nonmaterial technical or administrative error or omission in the
application process that is unrelated to the candidate's
professional qualifications as long as there is sufficient
information available to the board to determine the eligibility of
the candidate for licensure.
(c) Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, the board may grant
licenses to an applicant in extraordinary circumstances under the
following conditions:
(1) Upon a finding by the board that based on the applicant's
exceptional education, training and practice credentials, the
applicant's practice in the state would be beneficial to the public
welfare;
(2) Upon a finding by the board that the applicant's
education, training and practice credentials are substantially
equivalent to the requirements of licensure established in this
article;
(3) That a license granted under these extraordinary
circumstances is approved by a vote of three fourths of the members
of the board;
(4) That orders denying applications for a license under this
subsection are not appealable;
(5) That the board report to the President of the Senate and
the Speaker of the House of Delegates all decisions made pursuant
to this subsection and the reasons for those decisions; and
(6) That the provisions of this subsection exist until the
first day of July, two thousand seven, unless sooner terminated,
continued or reestablished by an Act of the Legislature.
(d) All licenses to practice osteopathic medicine and surgery
granted prior to the first day of July, two thousand seven and
valid on that date shall continue in full effect for the term and
under the conditions provided by law at the time of the granting of
the license.
(e) The board may promulgate emergency rules pursuant to the
provisions of section fifteen, article three, chapter twenty-nine-a
of this code they find necessary to fully comply with the
requirements of this article;
§30-14-5. Examination; certificate of license; certificate of
authorization for osteopathic medical corporation;
certification and establishment of standards for
employment of assistants; fee.
The examination for a license to practice medicine and surgery
as an osteopathic physician and surgeon shall be written and oral
and shall cover all the essential branches of medicine and surgery
including anatomy, physiology, chemistry, pharmacology, pathology,
public health--preventive medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, osteopathic medicine, materia medica principles and
practice of osteopathy; and this list of subjects may be expanded
or regrouped at the discretion of the board.
The board shall issue certificates of license to all
applicants who shall successfully pass the said examination and
shall present evidence showing that they have served an internship
in a hospital approved by the AOA for intern training. The board
shall also examine the application of any one or more osteopathic
physicians or surgeons for the formation of an osteopathic medical
corporation, filed pursuant to the provisions of section nine-a of
this article, and issue a certificate of authorization therefor to
any applicant or applicants legally entitled to receive the same.
The board shall also have authority to authorize osteopathic
medical corporations, in accordance with the provisions of sections
nine-a and nine-b of this article, to practice osteopathic medicine
and surgery through duly licensed osteopathic physicians and
surgeons.
The board shall have the power to certify and establish
standards for employment of assistants to osteopathic physicians
and surgeons.
No license shall be issued under the provisions of this
section until the person applying therefor shall have paid to the
board a fee of five dollars.
§30-14-11. Refusal, suspension or revocation of license; suspension or revocation of certificate of
authorization.
(a) The board may either refuse to issue or may suspend or
revoke any license for any one or more of the following causes:
(1) Conviction of a felony, as shown by a certified copy of
the record of the trial court;
(2) Conviction of a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude;
(3) Violation of any provision of this article regulating the
practice of osteopathic physicians and surgeons;
(4) Fraud, misrepresentation or deceit in procuring or
attempting to procure admission to practice;
(5) Gross malpractice;
(6) Advertising by means of knowingly false or deceptive
statements;
(7) Advertising, practicing or attempting to practice under a
name other than one's own;
(8) Habitual drunkenness, or habitual addiction to the use of
morphine, cocaine or other habit-forming drugs
.;
(9) Any incident, failure or disruption in the course of a
physician's education, training or practice that indicates a lack
of skill, competence, integrity or professional conduct; and
(10) Other act or failure, as defined by the board by
legislative rule, that fails to conform to accepted standards of
professional conduct.
(b) The board shall also have the power to suspend or revoke
for cause any certificate of authorization issued by it. It shall
have the power to reinstate any certificate of authorization
suspended or revoked by it.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to remove inconsistent and
outdated provisions concerning osteopathic physicians and surgeons
;
the bill clarifies and updates the licensing requirements for
osteopathic physicians and surgeons; and the bill also sets forth
additional causes for revoking or suspending a license
.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be removed from
the present law and underscoring indicates new language.