Unveiling the Reality of State Medical Boards: Lessons in Patient Safety

A recent episode of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” takes on an unlikely target for Oliver’s brand of scathing satirical humor: state medical licensing boards. As his monologue unwinds, it’s clear that a sense of justified outrage underpins his usual quick-witted one-liners.?

As a member of the greater healthcare community recognizing Patient Safety Awareness week, we acknowledge the elements of truth in the issues Oliver raises:

• Many state medical boards lack financial resources and allotted time to pursue complaints in a timely and thorough manner.
• Some boards lack proper representation from individuals outside the medical establishment.?
• Punishment for physician malfeasance can be “rare, light, and dangerously slow in coming,” (in Oliver’s words).?

While there’s a good deal of accuracy in Oliver’s observations, it’s also important to bear in mind that medical boards are only one part of the network of organizations and activities that work in concert to protect patient safety.?

The credentialing process is a crucial step toward ensuring medical practitioners are properly qualified, operating with a track record of safety, and acting in accordance with the norms and standards of their field of specialty or practice.?

Credentialing committees and peer review processes provide some of the most effective means of checking those rare healthcare practitioners who operate outside the bounds of patient safety—and stain the good name of the vast majority who seek to uphold the highest standards of care.?

Payers and provider organizations operate knowing that, while state medical boards can be a valuable backstop against patient harm, ongoing monitoring of credentialing also supports their utmost mission of patient care.

In the fascinating discussion linked below, andros brings together experts surrounding the case of Dr. Christopher Duntsch, the physician convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 2017 after harming more than 30 patients during surgery—in some cases leading to paralysis and death.?

WATCH NOW: Duties & Lessons Learned from Dr. Death

This conversation involves both the physicians who petitioned the Texas State Medical Board to revoke Duntsch’s license, as well as the attorneys they partnered with in Duntsch’s prosecution.?

In this hard-hitting and revelatory exploration, this one-of-a-kind gathering reveals a perfect storm of errors that enabled Duntsch to keep practicing including:

• An absence of disclosure of pertinent information from Duntsch’s training.
• Hospital peer-review processes and the Texas Medical Board failing to address complaints in a timely way.
• Ignoring credentialing red flags and inappropriate granting of temporary hospital privileges.

While Duntsch’s story is difficult to hear, there are vital lessons that spring from it that must be heeded. Primary among them: healthcare administrators and leaders at all levels must recognize the ongoing need to strengthen credentialing and peer review processes .?

As our greater healthcare community recognizes patient safety awareness this week, we also honor the dedication of our physicians to the best outcomes every day, in the highest spirit of their professional calling.