Analysis of states' disciplinary rates raises patient safety concerns

Public Citizen's study suggests a correlation between the number of actions against physicians and how well a licensing board is performing its duties.

By Andis Robeznieks, AMNews staff. May 13, 2002.

A recent report issued by a consumer advocacy group equates the disciplining of doctors with patient safety, but state and national officials disagree with this conclusion, saying that there is no evidence to support it.

Public Citizen, a Washington, D.C.-based organization founded by Ralph Nader in 1971, analyzed data collected by the Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States and calculated the rates of license revocations, surrenders, suspensions and probations/restrictions per 1,000 physicians for each state. (Osteopathic physician data were added to states with combined MD/DO boards.)

It found Arizona to have the "best" record, with 10.52 serious actions per 1,000 doctors. Hawaii was the "worst" state with only 0.8 serious actions per 1,000 physicians; the District of Columbia was even lower, at 0.73.

"These data again raise serious questions about the extent to which patients in many states with poorer records of serious doctor discipline are being protected from physicians who might well be barred from practice in states with boards that are doing a better job of disciplining physicians," the report stated. Dale Austin, deputy executive vice president and chief operating officer of the FSMB, disagreed with Public Citizen's interpretation of the FSMB information.

"I think that's a real leap to jump to that conclusion given that type of data," Austin said, explaining that the raw numbers don't take into account "a plethora of differences" between boards such as staffing, funding, and statutory authority. [...]