At the April 2018 meeting, the Medical Board adopted changes to Regulation 2 governing the definition of excessive prescribing of scheduled medications. The effective date of the amendments is August 8, 2018.
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At the April 2018 meeting, the Board adopted an amendment to Regulation 17 governing continuing medical education (CME) to include one hour of prescribing education for physicians and physician assistants within the 20 hours of CME currently required. The effective date of this change is June 13, 2018. The one hour of prescribing CME will be required starting in the 2019 renewal cycle.
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At the December 2017 meeting, the Board adopted an amendment to Regulation 24 governing physician assistants. The amendment removed the requirement that the supervising physician be able to reach the physician assistant within one hour when the physician assistant is rendering services to patients. The effective date of this change is June 12,2018.
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UAMS is launching AR-IMPACT (Improving Multi-disciplinary Pain Care and Treatment) for Arkansas physicians to better manage chronic pain patients and those who need their opioid dosage reduced. AR-IMPACT is a weekly free interactive televideo program offering free CME credit. The first conference is scheduled for May 2 and will continue to be held each Wednesday, from 12 to 1 p.m. Please join the conference on Wednesday, May 2, or any subsequent Wednesday at 12pm by clicking here or call in 1-844-885-1319, access code: 415081971#. Read more.
At the April 2018 meeting, the Board requested that an announcement be posted to clarify that per A.C. A. 17-95-104, it is a hospital’s duty to report to the Board any physician whose hospital privileges were revoked, limited, or terminated for any cause including resignation along with pertinent information. The hospital must also report any formal disciplinary action taken against a physician relating to professional ethics, medical incompetence, moral turpitude, or drug/alcohol abuse. To review the complete statute, click here.
Recently the Board has addressed numerous complaints involving a physician’s failure to timely and completely fill out and process death certificates. In order for a physician to avoid Board interaction, the Board reminds and stresses to physicians the importance of complying with Regulation 34 by fully completing death certificates in a timely manner.
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At the February 2018 meeting of the Arkansas State Medical Board, numerous public comments were taken regarding proposed changes to Regulation 2. Based on some of those comments, it was determined that some physicians may have misinterpreted the proposed definition of excessive and may be telling patients the Arkansas State Medical Board no longer allows physicians to prescribe certain controlled substances. This is not the case.
The proposed changes do not require that physicians cease prescribing controlled substances. As with any prescription, there must be a documented, detailed medical justification for the prescription in the patient record. For those cases with the documented, detailed medical justification and for which the prescription is written for chronic pain, the change in Regulation 2 would adopt the CDC guidelines limiting the prescription to less than 50 Morphine Milligram Equivalents per day unless the physician documents certain findings in the file. Those findings are delineated in the proposed Regulation.
For those persons being prescribed controlled substances for acute pain, the prescription limitation is 7 days unless there is detailed, documented medical justification in the patient record for a prescription of a longer duration.
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A number of licensees have called the Board regarding phone calls they have received stating that their Arkansas license could be in jeopardy. In some of these calls, the person poses as a DEA agent. If you receive such a call, do not provide the caller with any identifying information. Be advised that action on your license would not be initiated by a phone call. If you receive a call and have questions regarding the status of your license, call the Board office at 501-296-1802.