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Certified public accountants (CPAs) with qualifications substantially equivalent to those required for Texas licensure may practice in Texas "without notice or license" beginning September 1, 2007. An exception is that out-of-state CPA firms who perform audits in Texas must be licensed in the state.
Read the new law (HB2144).
The Health System Improvements Act, 2007 amends the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 and the Psychology Act, 1991, and provides for a new statute, the Psychotherapy Act, 2007. New colleges are established to regulate the professions of naturopathy, homeopathy, kinesiology and psychotherapy. Regulatory health colleges must post on their websites findings of practitioner malpractice and negligence as well as any criminal offence involving a practitioner for which a guilty verdict was made. Public information from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-term care.
The Health System Improvements Act, 2007
A 2007 National Council of Architectural Registration Boards'(NCARB) survey shows that the 112,650 state-registered architects hold 222,196 licenses among them. NCARB says this finding "means, on average, an architect is registered in at least two different jurisdictions." Survey results.
Approval for the new regulatory body followed application by the New Zealand Association of Psychotherapists to have psychotherapy included under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 which regulates other health professions. Following consultation with the public and professionals, the health ministry determined regulation of psychotherapists is in the public interest. The seven-member board will have two lay members and five practicing psychotherapists each with at least 8 years experience. Press release.
Before state boards could rapidly share disciplinary actions, a physician who was disciplined in one state could practice for years in another state without detection. Today, 88% of physicians are licensed in two or more states and state board use of a national alert service has greatly reduced these illegal practice relocations. This and other changes are reported in State of the States: Physician Regulation 2007 published by The Federation of State Medical Boards. Read the report. The federation has also issued Responding in Times of Need: Katrina and Beyond.
An updated Trade Policy Review on Costa Rica is available from the World Trade Organization. Oversight of the approximately 22 Costa Rican professions is handled by various professional associations. There is no legal statute for professions. With the exception of commitments on medical and dental services, Costa Rica has no General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) specific commitments for professional services. Foreigners may register with the associations, but usually must comply with additional requirements. Residence requirements in particular are applied differently by the various professions and can represent a significant barrier to practice by foreigners. At the end of 2006, proposals were being considered that would allow greater foreigner participation in accounting services. Read the review. World Trade Organization
Nevada - a statewide licensing structure will replace a system under which massage therapists had to hold a license in each city and county in which they worked. Effective July 2007, current licensees can be grandfathered by the state board. Read more
South Dakota - continuing education requirment cut from 16 hours to 8.
Texas - training requirement for licensure raised from 300 to 500 hours.
As preparations continue for CLEAR’s 2007 annual conference in Atlanta, I can’t help but reflect on what has already been an eventful year for this organization. CLEAR’s Board of Directors just recently returned from an excellent strategic planning session in Lexington, Kentucky. That meeting focused on continuing the growth in membership and services that has served this organization and the regulatory community so well these past 27 years.
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State legislators appear to be reaching agreement on an illegal immigration bill that would tie business and professional licenses to hiring of illegal immigrants. The current version calls for a first-offense temporary license suspension until the illegal hiring situation is corrected. A second offense within three years would result in a three-year license suspension.
The Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board (PMETB) and the General Medical Council (GMC) have agreed on Standards for Training for the Foundation Programme and outcomes that provisionally registered doctors must demonstrate before receiving full registration. Additionally, through July 17, 2007, the GMC is soliciting input on its Fitness to Practise Rules. These changes and others yet to come are in part a response to a process summarized in a February 2007 government report, Trust, Assurance and Safety – the Regulation of Health Professionals, which makes a number of recommendations among its "key principles for a lasting settlement for professional regulation." Related items:
'No confidence' vote for medical chief
UK doctors may lose self-regulation
Historic Reform To The Regulation Of Health Professionals, UK
