WHEREAS: medical licensure boards have the authority to initiate disciplinary proceedings against any licensed physician by filing a complaint against that physician; and
WHEREAS: complaints are expensive to defend against, emotionally taxing, and can negatively impact a physician’s ability to belong to hospital staffs or obtain malpractice insurance, and his patients’ ability to obtain insurance reimbursement for the physician’s services; and
WHEREAS: any discipline imposed by the medical board against a physician that is based on issues beyond the knowledge of a lay person should be supported in the record by competent expert testimony, and many state laws so require; and
WHEREAS: medical boards may initiate or pursue a complaint against a physician without having procured competent expert testimony to support the allegations in its complaint; and
WHEREAS: the civil court system in some states, such as Illinois, has safeguarded against the filing of a frivolous medical malpractice lawsuit against a physician by requiring that one or more competent experts attest to the validity of the allegations in the lawsuit (“certificate of merit”) before it can be pursued in court.
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED THAT: the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons promote legislation requiring that licensure boards assure that one or more competent expert witnesses are willing to support by sworn testimony any allegations requiring expert witness support (i.e. obtain the equivalent of a certificate of merit) before the licensure board investigates a complaint against one of its licensees and before any disciplinary action is taken.
