CHECK UP ON YOUR DOCTOR

Information that was secret until 1 January, is now available to the public on the California state medical board's Website

Under a new California state law, the public can now use the Internet to find information about doctors' histories; information that had been kept secret until January 1st, 1998. The information available at http://www.medbd.ca.gov/ can reveal disciplinary actions by hospitals, recommended by fellow doctors, as well as court and private judgments against physicians, even if the Medical Board of California has not acted against the doctors. The new law makes California one of the most open states for disclosure of physician information.

For example, if a hospital has terminated or revoked a doctor's privileges (a disciplinary action that means the physician is no longer allowed to treat patients there), that information now is available to the public. The public can also find out whether the physician has paid any arbitration awards or any monetary judgments issued by a judge or jury. This new information is in addition to other information that has been available through the Medical Board of California's Website for the last eight months. However, the information is brief. Take the example of Dr. Patrick Chavis of Lynwood. The site reveals that the medical board has suspended his license and filed an accusation (equivalent to a charge), that he has not yet had a hearing or been found guilty of any charges, and that he had his staff privileges revoked by Suburban Medical Center in Paramount. but it does not reveal what he is accused of doing. Chavis was accused by the medical board last year of seriously injuring two patients and keeping them at different times in his own home, and of abandoning a third patient, groggy from liposuction surgery, in his office. That patient later died at a Lynwood hospital. The physician has denied the allegation of gross negligence.

Physicians have long argued that peer review at hospitals must be confidential, that doctors would be loath to judge the performance of colleagues if their decisions became public and exposed them to lawsuits. But critics have argued that keeping such actions private has allowed bad doctors to merely switch hospitals. Hospitals have been required to send the state medical board notice of such discipline against doctors for years, so it could investigate, but the public cannot depend solely on that, because the medical board has been unable to investigate all the cases; and the process is time-consuming. In the meantime, consumers of doctors' services don't know about it.

After an unflattering investigation of the medical board in 1993, it decided to disclose to the public new information about physicians, including malpractice awards of more than $30,000, felony convictions, and serious hospital disciplinary actions. That last category (hospital disciplinary actions) was later nullified by a state office that reviews agencies' compliance with state law; but with the passage of Assembly Bill 103, those reports were required to be disclosed. However, under the new law malpractice lawsuits that are settled before they reach trial will not be disclosed, providing an incentive to doctors to settle.

In cases of multiple disciplinary or court actions, you may have to call up more than one page. Information provided is sketchy, but if you need more details, you can contact the medical board through the Internet or by calling (916) 263-2382.