Boards nix naming of dentists charged with crimes

The Arizona dental and medical boards denied requests from a Phoenix ABC news station for lists of doctors and dentists who have been charged with crimes. The boards’ April refusal to name names is opening a debate about which public information should be public—and how public it should be.

Earlier in the year, ABC news investigators discovered that numerous dentists were continuing to practice in the state of Arizona despite losing their licenses in other states. These dentists also had criminal records, according to ABC.

A new Arizona law, requiring new dentists to pass a background check before achieving licensure, has no effect on dentists who were granted a license in the past.

Arizona law does require licensees to notify their board if they have been charged or convicted of a crime. Yet, the state’s dental and medical board both have refused to make information available to the public regarding physicians who have criminal records or have notified the state board of criminal action. The reasoning behind the refusal is that disclosing such information would jeopardize patient privacy.

Read the ABC report here.