The State Medical Board of Ohio (SMBO) seeks comments on its initial draft of rules proposed to authorize physicians and physician assistants to earn continuing medical education (CME) for providing medical services, as a volunteer, to indigent and uninsured persons. Comments received on the proposed rules may result in changes being made before the rules proceed further through the rulemaking process.
House Bill (HB) 290, effective on April 6, 2017, permits a patient with a terminal condition to be treated with a drug, product, or device that is not approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration. A section of that statute allows the SMBO to write rules to implement section 4745.04 of the Ohio Revised Code, to permit certain health care professionals to earn continuing education credit by providing volunteer health care services to indigent and uninsured persons. The provisions of this section are applicable to physicians and physician assistants.
- The licensing agency that licenses health care professionals requires a licensee to complete continuing education as a condition of having a license renewed by the agency
- The licensee provides the health care services to an indigent and uninsured person
- The licensee provides the health care services as a volunteer
- The licensee satisfies the requirements of section 2305.234 of the Revised Code to qualify for the immunity from liability granted under that section
- The health care services provided are within the scope of authority of the licensee renewing the license.
The legislation further directs a licensing agency to permit a licensee to satisfy up to one-third of the licensee’s continuing education requirement by providing health care services as a volunteer, at a rate of one credit hour for each sixty minutes spent providing health care services as a volunteer.
The SMBO’s proposed rules to implement HB 290 are available on its website. Comment must be emailed no later than Thursday, July 6.