16 MD & RN boards slack in disclosing misconduct
Disclosure of misconduct committed by doctors and nurses is an important issue concerning medical safety. And while some state medical boards across the United States do a satisfactory job in publicly listing every disciplinary action of medical practitioners, many are still lagging behind, according to a ProPublica report published on January 8.
The report asserts that16 medical and nursing boards are failing to disclose pertinent information regarding medical errors and other transgressions. Furthermore, boards often require patients to pay fees in order to view information about their care providers, the report points out.
Administrators of some boards claim that although the information is of public record, there are privacy issues that need to be considered.
The report does note that some state boards, such as Arizona’s doctor and nursing boards, are diligent about posting and making relevant legal documents regarding physician and nursing misconduct available to the public.
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