CLEAR

Washington: comprehensive report on health professions

The governor's requested performance audit of the state health care licensing and disciplinary system is complete. In its assessment of the Health Professions' Quality Assurance (HPQA) Office of the Department of Health, the auditors found that each year, fewer than 5 percent of credentialed health professionals face disciplinary action, yet some 85 percent of HPQA’s $23 million budget is spent on discipline-related actions. Among the recommendations are giving the department the statutory authority to access Washington State Patrol and FBI information for background checks,introducing negotiated statutory performance-based provisions for boards and commissions, and eliminating the registered counselor credential. Read the complete report.

West Virginia: association meeting expenditures questioned

Saying that a professional association exists to promote a profession and a regulatory board to protect the public, the state's legislative auditor has questioned the appropriateness of board expenditures to attend meetings of the American Society for Civil Engineers. The director of the Board of Registration for Professional Engineers says attending such meetings was in her job description when she was hired. The board is supporting her continued participation. Read more.

US: eBay sellers and state regulations

Several states are still deciding whether or how to regulate eBay sellers while some have dropped their earlier requirements for licensing. AuctionBytes has published a new listing showing the status of this shifting situation. Read more.

Ontario: independent practice for dental hygienists

Dental hygienists are now permitted to clean teeth without an order from a dentist. This frees registrants to establish independent practices in the province. Read more.

Oklahoma: new audit reports

The State Auditor and Inspector has released audit reports on three state boards. There were no major recommendations for improvement. Read the reports:
Board of Nursing 
Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology
Board of Examiners for Long Term Care Administrators

Wisconsin: prison system provides refuge for disciplined docs

The Capital Times reports that 17% of the physicians employed by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections have been disciplined by the Medical Examining Board. By comparison, the board’s director says that less that 2% of the state’s licensed physicians have been disciplined. Among those disciplined while in private practice is the doctor now in charge of medical care at the prison system's infirmary. He was twice disciplined for providing inadequate medical care. Read more. 

UK: discipline extended to actuaries

The former Accountancy Investigation and Discipline Board is now the Accountancy and Actuarial Discipline Board, to reflect an expanded scope of authority. The board will now investigate actuaries in those "cases which raise important issues affecting the public interest." Read more.

Northern Mariana Islands: acting governor acts

While serving as acting governor, Timothy P. Villagomez signed into law a measure clarifying how architects, landscape architects, engineers, land surveyors, and real property appraisers can practice in the commonwealth on a limited basis. They now must be licensed in another jurisdiction and their qualifications meet local licensure requirements.  Read more.   New Public Law 15-77.

Florida: teacher disciplinary database

Disciplinary actions taken against teachers since January 1 by the Florida Department of Education are now online. The information includes serious offenses only and does not list ongoing investigations. Read more.   Search the database.   

England: upsetting earpiece

England's Qualifications and Curriculum Authority is concerned about a tiny earpiece capable of receiving information from an MP3 player or mobile phone. At issue is whether it can be used as an examination cheating aid. Spokeswoman Isabel Nisbit said "As a regulator we take malpractice very seriously and will be taking any action we can" against the Canadian manufacturer. Read more  from the BBC and from The Province. Examear's Web site says "Due to massive entrance and some moral issues we decided to temporary (sic) shut our website." The domain name is for sale, as is the earpiece itself through other providers.