WEST virginia legislature
2020 regular session
Committee Substitute
for
Senate Bill 770
Senators Takubo, Stollings, Rucker, and Plymale, original sponsors
[Originating in the Committee on Health and Human Resources; reported on February 19, 2020]
A BILL to amend and reenact §30-14-2 and §30-14-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to definitions and applications for licensure or educational permits for osteopathic physicians and surgeons; revising requirements for post-doctoral training; and eliminating continuing medical education requirements for initial licensure.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
Article 14. Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons.
§30-14-2. Definitions.
“Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education” (ACGME) is the body responsible for accrediting the majority of graduate medical education programs for physicians (both medical doctors and doctors of osteopathic medicine), including medical internship, residency, and fellowship programs;
(a) “Accredited osteopathic college” means a college of
osteopathy and surgery which requires as a minimum prerequisite for admission
preprofessional training of at least two years of academic work in specified
scientific subjects, as prescribed by the board or by the college accrediting
agency of the American Osteopathic Association, in an accredited college of
arts and sciences and which requires for graduation a course of study approved
by the board in accordance with the minimum standards established by the
American Osteopathic Association;
“American Osteopathic Association” (AOA) is the entity that serves as the primary certifying body for osteopathic physicians and is the accrediting agency for osteopathic graduate medical education. Prior to the implementation of a single accreditation system for graduate medical education in the United States of America under the ACGME, which began in 2015 and will be fully implemented by July 1, 2020, the AOA also served as the accrediting body for osteopathic graduate medical education programs in the United States of America;
(b) “Approved program of post-graduate clinical training”
means a program of clinical training approved by, or subject to approval by,
the American Osteopathic Association or approved by the Accreditation Council
for Graduate Medical Education for the purposes of intern or resident training;
(c) “Board” means the West Virginia Board of Osteopathic
Medicine: Provided, That where used elsewhere in the Code code,
the West Virginia Board of Osteopathy and Board of Osteopathy shall also mean
the West Virginia Board of Osteopathic Medicine;
(d) “License” means legal authorization issued by the
board to a fully qualified osteopathic physician to engage in the regular
practice of osteopathic medicine and surgery;
(e) “Osteopathy” means that system of the healing art
which places the chief emphasis on the structural integrity of the body
mechanism as being the most important single factor in maintaining the
well-being of the organism in health and disease;
(f) “Permit” means a limited, legal authorization issued
by the board to an osteopathic physician to practice osteopathic medicine and
surgery in this state while serving under special circumstances of public need
or while undergoing post-graduate clinical training as a prerequisite to
licensure;
(g) “Reciprocal endorsement” means a duly authenticated
verification of the board, addressed to a board or agency of another country,
state, territory, province, or the District of Columbia, vouching that a
license issued to an osteopathic physician and surgeon pursuant to the laws of
this state is currently valid and not suspended or revoked for any cause or
causes specified in this article.
§30-14-4. Application for license or educational permit.
(a) Each applicant for examination by the board, with the exception of assistants to osteopathic physicians and surgeons, as hereinafter provided, shall submit an application therefor on forms prepared and furnished by the board.
(b) Each applicant for a license shall furnish evidence, verified by oath and satisfactory to the board, establishing that the applicant has satisfied the following requirements:
(1) The applicant is 18 years of age or over;
(2) The applicant is of
good moral character;
(3)(2) The
applicant has graduated from an accredited osteopathic college;
(4)(3)The
applicant has successfully completed either of the following:
(A) A a minimum of one year of post-doctoral,
clinical training in a program approved by the American Osteopathic Association
or the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.
(B) A minimum of one
year of post-doctoral, clinical training in a program approved by the
Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and forty hours of
continuing medical education in osteopathic manipulative medicine and
osteopathic manipulative treatment in courses approved, and classified as
Category 1A, by the American Osteopathic Association
(c) Each applicant for an educational permit shall furnish evidence, verified by oath and satisfactory to the board, establishing that the applicant has satisfied the following requirements:
(1) The applicant is 18 years of age or over;
(2) The applicant is of
good moral character;
(3)(2) The
applicant has graduated from an accredited osteopathic college; and
(4)(3) The
applicant is under contract as an intern or resident in an approved program of
post-graduate clinical training.; and
(4) The applicant has satisfied the requirements of §30-1-24 of this code.
(d) The board may not issue a license or permit to any person until the applicant has paid the application fee established by legislative rule of the board.
(e) In order to give timely effect to the amendments to this section and §30-14-10 of this article, the board is authorized to propose a legislative rule consistent with these amendments as an emergency rule under the provisions of §29A-3-15 of this code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to revise the requirements for post-doctoral training as a requirement for licensure as an osteopathic physician and to eliminate the requirement of Continuing Medical Education Hours prior to initial licensure. These changes will create parity with applicants for a medical doctor (MD) who graduates from equivalent programs and will reflect the current transition to a single accreditation system for all D.O.s and M.D.s under the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, which will be complete by July 1, 2020.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.