Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance

committees of the NM Legislature. The LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports

if they are used for other purposes.

Current FIRs (in HTML & Adobe PDF formats) are a vailable on the NM Legislative Website (legis.state.nm.us).

Adobe PDF versions include all attachments, whereas HTML versions may not. Previously issued FIRs and

attachments may be obtained from the LFC in Suite 101 of the State Capitol Building North.

F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Jennings

DATE TYPED 1/28/2005 HB

SHORT TITLE Medical Practice Act

SB 341

ANALYST Moser

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY05

FY06

FY05

FY06

NFI

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

NM Medical Board

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 341 clarifies and corrects existing language. Several changes are substantive, includ-

ing authority to subpoena peer review records and keep them confidential, authority for the board

to make exceptions to the time frame for completing examinations, and clarification of language

about inappropriate sexual contact with patients and/or their guardians.

Significant Issues

Expanded subpoena power and streamlined language about sexual misconduct will assist the

Board to fulfill its statutory mandate to protect the NM public through investigations of con-

sumer complaints against physicians. Clarification to licensure sections will assist applicants to

better understand the requirements for licensure. Provisions for exceptions to the examination

timeframe will permit the Board to be more flexible in its consideration of individual applicants.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

Clarifications and changes to the MPA in this bill will allow the Medical Board to improve its

performance in investigations and licensing.

Senate Bill 341 -- Page 2

CONFLICT, DUPLICATION, COMPANIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP

The language in SB341 conflicts with some of the amendments in SB297.

TECHNICAL ISSUES

The Medical Board, after further analysis of their recommended changes on page 4, lines 18-19,

recommends that the language should not be changed as proposed.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

The Board currently has the authority to issue investigative subpoenas, however, the new lan-

guage requires review organizations to comply with board subpoenas and clarifies current con-

cerns about the confidentiality of information provided to the Board. All information subpoe-

naed remains confidential and will not be disclosed, except in very limited circumstances. (Pages

1, 2 and 20)

Existing licensing requirements prescribe a period of seven years for an applicant to complete the

examination series (ten years for certain applicants). The proposed new language will allow the

board to develop a rule establishing other exceptions to this seven-year requirement. In the past

few years several qualified applicants were not able to be licensed in New Mexico because of the

existing provision and many other states have dropped or revised their time frames for examina-

tions given that there appears to be no direct correlation between time in which the examination

series was completed and future competence of the physician. (Page 6)

Existing language about inappropriate sexual contact between a physician and patient or the

guardian of a patient requires that the physician represents or infers that the sexual contact is part

of the patient’s treatment. This is an artificial and outdated limitation, and removal of this lan-

guage will enhance the Board’s ability to carry out its statutory mandate to protect the NM pub-

lic. (Page 16.)

The Medical Board considers the following amendments to be primarily clean-up and clarifica-

tion:

•

Page 5, line 4, removing the requirement for “good moral character” because other

provisions of the law allow us to determine if an applicant has convictions or licens-

ing actions. This language is being removed throughout the Act.

•

Page 5, line 5, change the language “medical college or school in good standing” to

an “accredited” U.S. or Canadian medical school. This clarifies what “good-

standing” actually means. This language is also being clarified as it applies to licens-

ing by endorsement on page 7, line 6.

•

Page 5, line 19, because U.S. and Canadian schools are very similar in curriculum

requirements we have included both in the first paragraph. This paragraph only

applies to graduates from a medical school located outside the US or Canada.

•

Page 7, lines 3-4, and lines 19-20, are being deleted as outdated. License verification

is no longer dependent upon “proper endorsement” but is done electronically.

•

The changes to pages 9 and 10 allow the board to designate someone other than the

secretary-treasurer to approve temporary licenses. These sections also include draft-

ing changes with no substantive change in the requirement.

•

Page 19, the changes to Public Service licenses will be consistent with current prac-

Senate Bill 341 -- Page 3

tice and establish a fixed date for license expiration. Currently the licenses are valid

for one year and can expire on any date, which has become a tracking nightmare for

staff.

ALTERNATIVES

Page 4, lines 18 and 19, remove the proposed amendments and allow the language to remain as

currently written.

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL.

Certain investigation and disciplinary powers of the Board will continue to be limited. The

Board will continue to have no flexibility regarding examination time frames, and may have to

turn away otherwise qualified applicants.

GM/yr:lg