Of the nation’s 70 medical boards, 46 boards in 36 states can conduct a criminal background check prior to licensure, the report says. Of those, 40 boards in 31 states have access to the Federal Bureau of Investigation database.
Most states require licensed, practicing physicians to report charges against them within 30 days. But in North Carolina, for example, the reports are not always processed in a timely manner. The North Carolina medical board plans to contract with a private company that will routinely check for arrests among the state’s physicians.
“The board has grown frustrated with the lack of disclosure,” said board spokeswoman Jean Fisher Brinkley. “It’s another way that the board can make sure it is doing due diligence and it’s not depending on the licensee to disclose that information.”
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