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Table
of Contents 
 Overview.
California.
Florida.
Idaho.
Massachusetts.
New
York.
Oregon.
Rhode Island.
Washington
State.
There are other states
providing information about physicians although not all of them
provide malpractice information. We have not listed these states due
to their large number. If
you are looking for information in a state which is not listed,
please email us at info@healthcarechoices.org.
and we
will send it to you. You
can request this information anonymously if you would like.
Physician Medical Specialty Board
Certification.
Overview.
What
is A Profile?
Several states now
include medical
malpractice and hospital
disciplinary action information
on their websites. In addition, an increasing number of states have
passed so-called "Profiling" laws requiring state
agencies to compile practice information on physicians and other
practitioners from various sources and then publish the resulting
"Profile"
on the internet. Generally, profiles consist
of information such as the practitioner's education and training,
specialty, hospital affiliations, disciplinary actions, closed malpractice
cases and hospital disciplinary proceedings. Often, states which
have passed profile laws were publishing information about physicians
and other practitioners prior to the passage of these laws.The impact
of these laws as far as this information is concerned is mainly
to improve access by requiring the states to compile the information
in one place.
In addition, profiling
laws often add categories of information not previously published.Some states, such as California and Massachusetts, provide malpractice information to the public as a result
of a requirement included in profiling legislation. Florida, on the other hand, has been releasing extensive information on closed malpractice
claims through a process which is separate from profiling which does not go into effect in
Florida until July, 1999.
State governments are not the only source of profiling information. For
example, the American Medical Association's On - Line
Doctor Finder, contains
physician profiling information such as a physician's medical school, training and
specialty. At least one state, California,
relies on the AMA's website. The California physician profiling
website has a link to the AMA site to which visitors are referred for additional
information on physicians. On the American Board of Medical Specialties'
website people can find out if a specific physician has been certified as a
specialist by one of their specialty boards.
Verification
of Profiling Information.
Since a practitioner's profile is usually
a compilation of information from a number of sources, an important
issue is the extent to which the agency or entity publishing the
information verifies its accuracy. Different states approach this
issue differently. The Idaho profiling
law, for example, requires a disclaimer to be included on profiles
stating that the information has been self-reported by the practitioner
and has not been verified by the licensing board publishing the
profile. In other states, profiles are a combination of unverified
information provided by the health care practitioner and information
generated by government agencies or other sources, such as insurers.
Penalties For NonCompliance.
There is variation among states with respect to penalties imposed on
practitioners for failing to report or for reporting inaccurate information. Idaho provides for a $50/day fine for the period a
practitioner is not in compliance with the statutory reporting requirements. The Idaho law, however, explicitly prohibits
disciplinary action which will affect a practitioner's license. In Florida, on the other hand, failure to comply with
the profiling statute can subject the practitioner to disciplinary action including
failure to have a license renewed.
Information Available in Different
States.
The following are links to descriptions of the types of information
published by different states with Profiling Laws.
California.
Florida.
Idaho.
Massachusetts.
Oregon.
Rhode Island.
Washington State.
Follow this link to Other Information About
Specific Hospitals, Physicians and Other Health Care Practitioners on our website.
Feedback.
We want to make our website as helpful as possible.
If you are looking for information and can't find it, please email us
at info@healthcarechoices.org.
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