The National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) was created to record malpractice payments, disciplinary action, restrictions of privileges, and other red flags for physicians who may be less likely to provide excellent care for others. Unfortunately, as with any solution to a real problem, it’s not perfect. Providers with poor records may not get flagged in spite of past transgressions. That can present a real problem when you’re trying to hire clinical staff in a hurry. The risks to your patients—and your business—can be catastrophic. Just recently, a physician at an urgent care center in Irvine, CA was arrested on charges that he illegally provided opioid drugs to multiple patients (one of whom has been charged with killing an off-duty firefighter while driving under the influence). Whether that doctor would have been flagged with a search of the NPDB isn’t clear. What is clear is that the system needs to be improved. To that end, an article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel presented five ways to do just that, summarized here:
- State legislators could encourage state licensing boards to conduct more oversight. In addition, having more non–healthcare providers sit on those boards could make for a more objective approach.
- When the Food and Drug Administration takes the rare step of sending a warning letter to a physician, ensure that state medical boards receive a copy of those letters (which is not a common practice at present.
- Provide more information when a physician loses their license. Often, doctors who are facing disciplinary processes surrender their licenses “voluntarily” in order to avoid having their problems aired publicly.
- Standardize the level of information that is provided to the public. “State medical boards vary dramatically when it comes to the information they include on their websites about a doctor’s background,” according to the Journal-SentinelOne solution could be to give medical boards the authority to put more information on their websites.
- When physicians are banned from state Medicaid programs, cut them off from Medicare programs, as well. Again, amending this situation would have to start with improving communication between states and the federal government.