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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Fifth Legislature, Second Regular Session
international medical graduates; licensure; accreditation
Purpose
Requires the Arizona Medical Board (AMB) to grant a license to practice medicine in Arizona to an international medical graduate who meets outlined criteria.
Background
The primary duty of the AMB is to protect the public from unlawful, incompetent, unqualified, impaired or unprofessional practitioners of allopathic medicine through licensure, regulation and rehabilitation of the profession in Arizona. The powers and duties of the AMB include: 1) ordering and evaluating physical, psychological, psychiatric and competency testing of licensed physicians and licensure candidates; 2) initiating investigations and determining whether a doctor of medicine has engaged in unprofessional conduct, provided incompetent medical care or is mentally or physically unable to engage in the practice of medicine; 3) developing and recommending standards governing the profession; 4) reviewing the credentials and abilities of applicants whose professional records or physical or mental capabilities do not meet licensure requirements; 5) disciplining and rehabilitating physicians; 6) engaging in a full exchange of information with licensing boards, disciplinary boards and medical associations of other states, foreign countries and the Arizona Medical Association; 7) adopting rules for licensure and regulation of doctors of medicine; 8) establishing fees and penalties; and 9) determining whether a prospective or current Arizona licensed physician has the training or experience necessary to treat and manage opiate-dependent patients (A.R.S. § 32-1403).
An applicant for
a medical license in Arizona must: 1) graduate from an approved school of
medicine or receive a medical education that the AMB deems to be of equivalent
quality;
2) successfully complete an approved 12-month hospital internship, residency or
clinical fellowship program; 3) have the physical and mental capability to
safely engage in the practice of medicine; 4) have a professional record that
indicates that the applicant has not committed any act that would constitute
grounds for disciplinary action; 5) not have surrendered a license, currently
be under investigation, suspension or restriction or have had a medical license
revoked by a medical regulatory board in another jurisdiction that constitutes
unprofessional conduct; 6) pay all AMB-required fees; 7) complete an
AMB-prescribed training unit; 8) submit a five-year medical employment history
including verification of licensure from every state in which the applicant has
ever held a medical license; and 9) submit a full set of fingerprints to the
AMB for a state and federal criminal records check (A.R.S.
§ 32-1422).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
International Medical Graduate Licensure
1. Allows an international medical graduate, with a degree from an accredited international medical program, to practice medicine in Arizona without additional training or residency requirements if outlined criteria are met.
2. Requires the AMB to grant a medical license to an international medical graduate who meets outlined criteria and who is a resident of and licensed to practice in:
a) Australia;
b) Hong Kong;
c) Ireland;
d) Israel;
e) New Zealand;
f) Singapore;
g) South Africa;
h) Switzerland;
i) the United Kingdom;
j) Canada; or
k) any additional countries added by the AMB.
3. Stipulates that the AMB may grant a license only to an international medical program graduate:
a) whose federal immigration status allows the person to work as a physician in the US; and
b) who meets the basic statutory requirements for medicine and surgery licensure.
4. Requires the AMB to grant a provisional medical license to any international medical graduate:
a) who has an employment offer as a physician with an Arizona health care provider;
b) whose federal immigration status allows the person to work as a physician in the United States; and
c) who meets the basic statutory requirements for medicine and surgery licensure.
5. Allows the AMB to discipline an international medical graduate licensee or revoke a provisional license based on clear and compelling evidence.
6. Allows, within 120 days of the revocation of a provisional license, a licensee to appeal the decision to the Maricopa County Superior Court.
7. Requires the Maricopa County Superior Court to reinstate a revoked provisional license if the court finds that the AMB's actions did not meet prescribed standards.
8. Allows a provisional license to automatically be converted into a full medical license after one year, unless the licensee is disciplined in that one-year period.
International Medical Program
9. Defines international medical program as any medical school, residency program, medical internship program or entity that provides physicians with medical education or training outside of the United States and that is substantially similar to the practice requirements in Arizona.
10. Allows an international medical program to apply to the AMB for accreditation.
11. Requires the AMB to grant accreditation to an international medical program within 120 days of application unless the AMB can provide clear and compelling evidence that the majority of the international medical program's graduates are not likely to provide medical services that satisfy the state's medical safety, competence or conduct standards.
12. Requires the AMB to grant accreditation status to any international medical program that produces at least five international medical graduates who have been granted a full medical license to practice in Arizona.
13. Allows an international medical program to appeal a denial of accreditation to the Maricopa County Superior Court within 120 days of the AMB's denial.
14. Requires the Maricopa County Superior Court to grant accreditation if the court finds that the AMB failed to meet specified standards.
15. Requires the AMB to post a complete list of accredited international medical programs on the AMB's public website and provide the list on request.
Miscellaneous
16. Defines international medical graduate as an individual who:
a) has been granted a medical doctorate or a substantially similar degree by an international medical program of good standing;
b) is in good standing with the medical licensing or regulatory institution of the individual's resident country;
c) has completed a residency or substantially similar postgraduate medical training or has practiced as a medical professional performing the duties of a physician in the individual's resident country for at least two years; and
d) possesses basic fluency in the English language.
17. Defines terms.
18. Becomes effective on January 1, 2023.
Prepared by Senate Research
January 31, 2022
MM/MC/sr