CLEAR

WFC: chiropractic grows around the globe

The World Federation of Chiropractic's latest quarterly report shows that the profession is expanding internationally. There are now 20 doctors of chiropractic in the United Arab Emirates, 60 in Iran, and 500 in France, with an equal number in training. Read more.

Optometry: physicians oppose scope expansion

American Medical News reports that physicians are working against proposed legislation to expand the optometry scope of practice in Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska, South Carolina and Texas. Physicians recently have prevailed over optometrists in Florida and West Virginia. Read more.

British Columbia: expanded scopes for midwives, naturopaths, nurses

Health Services Minister George Abbott has announced new regulations that give naturopaths with additional training the authority to prescribe patient medications. British Columbia is the first province to grant an alternative health field this privilege. Also, both midwives and nurses are now authorized to provide expanded services while working independently. Read more. 

Pennsylvania: 2007 nurse-midwives prescribing law takes effect (almost)

A 2007 health reform law allowing nurse-midwives to prescribe drugs is now effective following a lengthy rules writing process; however, the actual writing of prescriptions by nurse-midwives won't occur until after the Board of Medicine develops an application for interested practitioners. Read  more.

NCEES: impact of requiring more education

Analysis of the Potential Impact of Requiring Additional Education for Engineering Licensure has been released by the Engineering Education Task Force of The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES). Included is a discussion of the educational, professional, regulatory and economic impact of a higher educational requirement, as well as alternatives to such a requirement.

Scotland: Law Society supports reforms

In its response to the Scottish Government consultation ‘Wider choice and better protection’, The Law Society of Scotland said it will back major legal services reform to "meet the needs of modern society and a global economy." Read more.

Washington: DOH accountability report

The state auditor has released an accountability report for the Department of Health (DOH) covering the period July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008. Two internal problem areas are noted, including security and monitoring of cash receipts. The department says it does not have adequate staffing to comply in full with the recommendations. DOH is responsible for several consumer protection areas, including the licensing and certification of 62 different types of health professionals. Read the report.

US: state revenue shortfall could equal that of 2001

The March 2009 State Budget Update from The National Governors Association and the National Association of State Budget Officers puts its bottom line first: "The revenue outlook in the states continues to deteriorate rapidly." The update quotes a recent Rockefeller Institute of Government report:  "history would suggest that state revenues may...bottom out in FY 2010 but not fully recover until FY 2012 or even later, depending on the severity of the revenue collapse." There is not agreement on whether the current situation will be worse than the 2001 downturn or not. In January, Stateline.org’s State of the States 2009 said that “The year after a recession ends is typically when state budgets are hit hardest.” 

Nevada: malpractice marathon

The state Supreme Court will hold a May “medical malpractice settlement marathon” to address a backlog of 400 malpractice cases in Clark County district courts. Read more.

Phillipines: PRC website

The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) website is offline as the result of an unknown hacker attack. Read more.