HLT-42-08-00017-P Physician Board Certification Entities

10/15/08 N.Y. St. Reg. HLT-42-08-00017-P

NEW YORK STATE REGISTER

VOLUME XXX, ISSUE 42

October 15, 2008

RULE MAKING ACTIVITIES

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

PROPOSED RULE MAKING

NO HEARING(S) SCHEDULED

 

I.D No. HLT-42-08-00017-P

Physician Board Certification Entities

PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following proposed rule:

Proposed Action:

Amendment of section 1000.1 of Title 10 NYCRR.

Statutory authority:

Public Health Law, section 2995(1)(b)

Subject:

Physician Board Certification Entities.

Purpose:

Amendment to definition of board-certified to remove The College Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC).

Text of proposed rule:

Subdivision (a) of Section 1000.1 is amended to read as follows:

(a) Board certification means a specialty or subspecialty in which a physician is certified by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), American Osteopathic Association (AOA), or Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) [or The College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC)].

Text of proposed rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:

Katherine Ceroalo, DOH, Bureau of House Counsel, Regulatory Affairs Unit, Room 2438, ESP, Tower Building, Albany, NY 12237, [phone], email: [e-mail]

Data, views or arguments may be submitted to:

Same as above.

Public comment will be received until:

45 days after publication of this notice.

Regulatory Impact Statement

Statutory Authority:

The authority for the promulgation of this regulation is contained in section 2995(1)(b) of the Public Health Law, which directs the Department of Health to promulgate rules for the purpose of implementing provisions of Title 1 of Article 29-D of the Public Health Law, the Patient Health Information and Quality Improvement Act of 2000.

Legislative Objectives:

Article 29-D of the Public Health Law creates a statewide health information system, the purpose of which is to increase information available to patients about health care providers and health care plans and to improve the quality of health care in New York State. The statewide health information system will collect information on physicians, hospitals, and health care plans and disseminate such information to the public for purposes of improving health care decision-making.

Needs and Benefits:

Certain provisions of Section 2995-a of the Public Health Law require the education and various qualifications of physicians to be available for public dissemination. When a physician's profile indicates that a physician is "board-certified," the public has a reasonable expectation that the physician has been both adequately trained and rigorously tested in the specialty area. Under current regulation, a physician may be "board-certified" by The College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC). In a recent review of board certifications, concerns have been raised that a physician could become board-certified in certain specialties by CFPC without sufficient rigorous training and experience. As a result, the public might be misinformed or mislead that such a CFPC-certified physician has working knowledge and experience that spans a wide range of medical conditions and treatment. This regulation will remove CFPC as one of the entities which the New York State Physician Profile includes when disclosing physicians' board certifications on the Department's public website.

Costs:

Costs to Regulated Parties:

There should be no additional costs to regulated parties resulting from this regulation.

Costs to State and Local Governments:

There will be no additional costs to the State as a result of this regulation. The only cost to the State remains the annual operating cost for the database of $1,809,162, which is not affected by this regulation. There will be no additional costs to local governments as a result of the database required by statute and reporting clarifications set forth in these regulations.

Cost to the Department of Health:

As discussed in the preceding section, there will be no additional costs to the Department of Health as a result of this particular regulation. The only cost to the Department of Health will be the annual operating cost for the overall database of $1,809,162.

Local Government Mandates:

These regulations do not impose any substantial new programs, services, duties or responsibilities upon any county, city, town, village, school district, fire district, or other special district.

Paperwork:

There will be no additional paperwork required as a result of this regulation.

Duplication:

This regulation will not duplicate, overlap or conflict with federal or state statutes or regulations.

Alternatives:

The alternative of taking no regulatory action was rejected because CFPC certification provides an inaccurate expectation to the public regarding the breadth and depth of training and experience of CPFC-certified physicians.

Federal Requirements:

This regulation does not exceed any minimum standards of the federal government for the same or similar subject areas.

Compliance Schedule:

This regulation will go into effect upon filing a Notice of Adoption in the New York State Register.

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

This regulation will have no impact on small businesses or local governments. This regulation solely impacts physicians in their individual, professional capacity.

Rural Area Flexibility Analysis

Types and Estimated Numbers of Rural Areas:

This regulation applies uniformly throughout the State, including all rural areas. Rural areas are defined as counties with a population less than 200,000 and, for counties with a population greater than 200,000, those counties which include towns with population densities of 150 persons or less per square mile. The following 44 counties have a population less than 200,000:

Allegany	Hamilton	Schenectady
Cattaraugus	Herkimer	Schoharie
Cayuga	Jefferson	Schuyler
Chautauqua	Lewis	Seneca
Chemung	Livingston	Steuben
Chenango	Madison	Sullivan
Clinton	Montgomery	Tioga
Columbia	Ontario	Tompkins
Cortland	Orleans	Ulster
Delaware	Oswego	Warren
Essex	Otsego	Washington
Franklin	Putnam	Wayne
Fulton	Rensselaer	Wyoming
Genesee	St. Lawrence	Yates
Greene	Saratoga

The following 9 counties have certain townships with population densities of 150 persons or less per square mile:

Albany	Erie	Oneida
Broome	Monroe	Onondaga
Dutchess	Niagara	Orange

This regulation has no adverse impact on rural areas.

Job Impact Statement

In accordance with Section 201-a(2)(a) of the State Administrative Procedure Act, the Department has determined that this regulation will have no impact on jobs and employment opportunities. It is evident from the subject matter of the regulation that it has no impact on jobs and employment opportunities since it merely removes an entity, with less stringent training and clinical education requirements, from which physicians can receive board certification.