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1998 SESSION

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HB 857 Practice of surgery.

Introduced by: Anne G. Rhodes | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles

SUMMARY:

Practice of surgery. Revises the provisions relating to the practice of interns and residents. This bill clarifies that (i) medical schools as well as hospitals and other organizations may employee interns and residents holding temporary licenses, (ii) the training received by interns and residents must be consistent with the requirements of the national accrediting agencies and the policies and procedures of the hospital, medical school or other organization operating a graduate medical education program, and (iii) interns and residents are only authorized to serve in the graduate medical education program while holding a temporary license for the length of the program. This bill requires the Board of Medicine to adopt guidelines concerning the ethical practice of surgeons and surgery interns and residents in hospitals or other organizations operating graduate medical education programs. These guidelines are not standards of care or regulations and are exempt from the requirements of the Administrative Process Act. The medical schools are required to cooperate with the Board in the development of the guidelines. The guidelines must include, but need not be limited to, matters relating to (i) obtaining informed consent, after the patient has been informed who will perform the surgery; (ii) the need, consistent with the informed consent, for the surgeon to be present during the procedure, except in emergencies and other unavoidable situations; and (iii) policies to avoid situations, unless the circumstances fall within an exception in the Board's guidelines or the policies of the relevant hospital, medical school or other organization, in which a surgeon, intern or resident represents that he will perform a procedure which he then fails to perform. The Board is also required to publish and distribute the guidelines. This bill relates to "ghost surgery."


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