2015 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 20 - Professional and Occupational Licensing, Certification, Title Protection and Registration. Examining Boards
Chapter 370 - Medicine and Surgery
Section 20-8a - Connecticut Medical Examining Board. Medical hearing panels.

(a) There shall be within the Department of Public Health a Connecticut Medical Examining Board.

(1) Said board shall consist of fifteen members appointed by the Governor, subject to the provisions of section 4-9a, in the manner prescribed for department heads in section 4-7, as follows: Five physicians practicing in the state; one physician who shall be a full-time member of the faculty of The University of Connecticut School of Medicine; one physician who shall be a full-time chief of staff in a general-care hospital in the state; one physician who shall be a supervising physician for one or more physician assistants; one physician who shall be a graduate of a medical education program accredited by the American Osteopathic Association; one physician assistant licensed pursuant to section 20-12b and practicing in this state; and five public members.

(2) On and after October 1, 2012, said board shall consist of twenty-one members, thirteen of whom are physicians, one of whom is a physician assistant and seven of whom are public members, all of whom are appointed by the Governor, subject to the provisions of section 4-9a, in the manner prescribed for department heads in section 4-7, as follows: Three physicians of any specialty; three physicians who shall be specialists in internal medicine; one physician who shall be a psychiatrist; one physician who shall be a surgeon; one physician who shall be an obstetrician-gynecologist; one physician who shall be a pediatrician; one physician who shall be an emergency medical physician; one physician who shall be a supervising physician for one or more physician assistants; one physician who shall be a graduate of a medical education program accredited by the American Osteopathic Association; one physician assistant licensed pursuant to section 20-12b; and seven public members.

(3) No professional member of said board shall be an elected or appointed officer of a professional society or association relating to such member’s profession at the time of appointment to the board or have been such an officer during the year immediately preceding appointment or serve for more than two consecutive terms. Professional members shall be practitioners in good professional standing and residents of this state.

(b) All vacancies shall be filled by the Governor in the manner prescribed for department heads in section 4-7. On and after October 1, 2012, successors and appointments to fill a vacancy shall fulfill the same qualifications as the member succeeded or replaced. In addition to the requirements in sections 4-9a and 19a-8, no person whose spouse, parent, brother, sister, child or spouse of a child is a physician, as defined in section 20-13a, or a physician assistant, as defined in section 20-12a, shall be appointed as a public member.

(c) The Commissioner of Public Health shall establish a list of persons who may serve as members of medical hearing panels established pursuant to subsection (g) of this section. Persons appointed to the list shall serve as members of the medical hearing panels and provide the same services as members of the Connecticut Medical Examining Board. Members from the list serving on such panels shall not be voting members of the Connecticut Medical Examining Board.

(1) The list shall consist of twenty-four members appointed by the commissioner, at least eight of whom shall be physicians, as defined in section 20-13a, with at least one of such physicians being a graduate of a medical education program accredited by the American Osteopathic Association, at least one of whom shall be a physician assistant licensed pursuant to section 20-12b, and nine of whom shall be members of the public.

(2) On and after October 1, 2012, the list shall consist of thirty-six members appointed by the commissioner, twenty-three of whom shall be physicians, as defined in section 20-13a, with at least two physicians who shall be specialists in internal medicine; one physician who shall be a psychiatrist; one physician who shall be a psychiatrist specializing in addiction medicine; one physician who shall be an obstetrician-gynecologist; one physician who shall be a pediatrician; one physician who shall be an emergency medicine physician; one physician who shall be a surgeon; one physician who shall be an anesthesiologist; and one physician who shall be a graduate of a medical education program accredited by the American Osteopathic Association; one who shall be a physician assistant licensed pursuant to section 20-12b; and twelve who shall be members of the public.

(3) No professional member of the list shall be an elected or appointed officer of a professional society or association relating to such member’s profession at the time of appointment to the list or have been such an officer during the year immediately preceding such appointment to the list. A licensed professional appointed to the list shall be a practitioner in good professional standing and a resident of this state. All vacancies shall be filled by the commissioner. On and after October 1, 2012, successors and professional members appointed to fill a vacancy on the list shall possess the same qualifications as those required of the member succeeded or replaced. No person whose spouse, parent, brother, sister, child or spouse of a child is a physician, as defined in section 20-13a, or a physician assistant, as defined in section 20-12a, shall be appointed to the list as a member of the public. Each person appointed to the list shall serve without compensation at the pleasure of the commissioner. Each medical hearing panel shall consist of three members, one of whom shall be a member of the Connecticut Medical Examining Board, one of whom shall be a physician or physician assistant, as appropriate, and one of whom shall be a public member. The physician and public member may be a member of the board or a member from the list established pursuant to this subsection.

(d) The office of the board shall be in Hartford, in facilities to be provided by the department.

(e) The board shall adopt and may amend a seal.

(f) The Governor shall appoint a chairperson from among the board members. Said board shall meet at least once during each calendar quarter and at such other times as the chairperson deems necessary. Special meetings shall be held on the request of a majority of the board after notice in accordance with the provisions of section 1-225. A majority of the members of the board shall constitute a quorum. Members shall not be compensated for their services. Any member who fails to attend three consecutive meetings or who fails to attend fifty per cent of all meetings held during any calendar year shall be deemed to have resigned from office. Minutes of all meetings shall be recorded by the board. No member shall participate in the affairs of the board during the pendency of any disciplinary proceedings by the board against such member. Said board shall (1) hear and decide matters concerning suspension or revocation of licensure, (2) adjudicate complaints against practitioners, and (3) impose sanctions where appropriate.

(g) The board shall refer all statements of charges filed with the board by the department pursuant to section 20-13e to a medical hearing panel within sixty days of the receipt of charges. The time period may be extended for good cause by the board in a duly recorded vote. The panel shall conduct a hearing in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 and the regulations adopted by the Commissioner of Public Health concerning contested cases, except that the panel shall file a proposed final decision with the board not later than one hundred twenty days after the receipt of the issuance of the notice of hearing by the board. The time period for filing such proposed final decision with the board may be extended for good cause by the board in a duly recorded vote.

(h) The board shall review the panel’s proposed final decision in accordance with the provisions of section 4-179, and adopt, modify or remand said decision for further review or for the taking of additional evidence. The board shall act on the proposed final decision within ninety days of the filing of said decision by the panel. This time period may be extended by the board for good cause in a duly recorded vote.

(i) Except in a case in which a license has been summarily suspended, pursuant to subsection (c) of section 19a-17 or subsection (c) of section 4-182, all three panel members shall be present to hear any evidence and vote on a proposed final decision. The chairperson of the Medical Examining Board may exempt a member from a meeting of the panel if the chairperson finds that good cause exists for such an exemption. Such an exemption may be granted orally but shall be reduced to writing and included as part of the record of the panel within two business days of the granting of the exemption or the opening of the record and shall state the reason for the exemption. Such exemption shall be granted to a member no more than once during any contested case and shall not be granted for a meeting at which the panel is acting on a proposed final decision on a statement of charges. The board may appoint a member to the panel to replace any member who resigns or otherwise fails to continue to serve on the panel. Such replacement member shall review the record prior to the next hearing.

(j) A determination of good cause shall not be reviewable and shall not constitute a basis for appeal of the decision of the board pursuant to section 4-183.

(P.A. 76-276, S. 10, 22; P.A. 77-614, S. 348, 610; P.A. 80-484, S. 10, 176; P.A. 81-471, S. 5, 71; P.A. 90-211, S. 1, 23; P.A. 91-105, S. 1, 4; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-12, S. 14, 55; P.A. 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-71, S. 1; 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 98-143, S. 3, 24; P.A. 99-102, S. 4; P.A. 00-205, S. 1; P.A. 05-275, S. 18, 19; P.A. 06-195, S. 33; P.A. 07-119, S. 1; 07-252, S. 22; P.A. 12-62, S. 1.)

History: P.A. 77-614 placed board within the department of health services, reduced physician members from 5 to 4 and increased public members from 2 to 3, deleting requirement that public members not be connected with medicine and that one be an attorney in Subsec. (a), updated Subsecs. (b) and (c) to make provisions generally applicable to revised membership rather than to initial appointments, deleted former Subsec. (d) which required 5-member quorum for conducting business, relettering remaining Subsecs. accordingly, and deleted provision in former Subsec. (e) re appointment of executive director and provision of necessary technical and clerical assistance by department, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 80-484 made all appointments by governor, deleting Subsec. (b) re appointments by State Medical Society and relettering remaining Subsecs. accordingly, added provisions requiring that appointees not be officers of professional society or association currently or within one year preceding appointment and that they be practitioners in good standing and residents and added Subsec. (e) re chairperson, meetings, compensation, duties, etc.; P.A. 81-471 changed “elected official” to “elected or appointed officer” as of July 1, 1981; P.A. 90-211 increased the membership by adding a supervising physician, a physician assistant and a fourth public member; P.A. 91-105 amended Subsec. (a) to require the legislature’s approval of medical examining board appointees, amended Subsec. (b) to prohibit relatives of physicians from serving as public members of the board, added a new Subsec. (f) to create a 3-member medical hearing panel from the board’s membership to hear charges filed with the department against physicians and to issue proposed final decisions, added new Subsec. (g) to require the medical examining board to review the panel’s proposed final decision, added a new Subsec. (h) to provide exemptions for panel members concerning their presence at hearings, added a new Subsec. (i) concerning a determination of good cause and made technical changes; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-12 in Subsec. (e) eliminated expense reimbursement for board members; P.A. 93-381 replaced department and commissioner of health services with department and commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-71 added a new Subsec. (c) establishing a list of hearing panel members, relettered the remaining Subsecs., amended Subsec. (g) to allow extension of the time period and allow the public member to be from the board or the list, and amended Subsec. (i) to allow replacement appointments; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 98-143 added quorum provision in Subsec. (f), effective July 1, 1998; P.A. 99-102 increased from 12 to 15 the examining board membership in Subsec. (a) by adding a physician practicing in this state, an osteopathic physician and a public member, amended Subsec. (c) to require at least one hearing panel physician to be an osteopathic physician and made technical changes in Subsecs. (a), (b), (c) and (f); P.A. 00-205 amended Subsec. (c) by increasing the list number from 16 to 18, adding one licensed physician assistant and one public member; P.A. 05-275 amended Subsec. (c) by increasing the number of persons who may serve as members of medical hearing panels from 18 to 24, requiring “at least” 8, rather than 8, of such persons to be physicians and “at least” one, rather than one, to be a physician assistant, requiring each medical hearing panel to consist of 3 members, one of whom shall be a physician or physician assistant, as appropriate, and one of whom shall be a member of the Connecticut Medical Examining Board, and adding provision re public member may be member of board or from list, and amended Subsec. (g) by removing language re composition of medical hearing panels and making technical changes, effective July 13, 2005; P.A. 06-195 amended Subsec. (c) by allowing both physician member and public member of medical hearing panel to be selected from membership of Connecticut Medical Examining Board or from list established by Commissioner of Public Health and making conforming changes, effective June 7, 2006; P.A. 07-119 deleted reference to registration as supervising physician, effective July 1, 2007; P.A. 07-252 made a technical change in Subsec. (c); P.A. 12-62 amended Subsec. (a) by designating existing provision re board membership as Subdiv. (1), designating existing provision re requirements for professional members as Subdiv. (3) and adding Subdiv. (2) re board membership on and after October 1, 2012, amended Subsec. (b) by adding “On and after October 1, 2012,” re successors and vacancy appointments and amended Subsec. (c) by designating existing provision re list of persons who may serve as members of medical hearing panels as Subdiv. (1), designating existing provision re requirements for professional members as Subdiv. (3), adding Subdiv. (2) re list on and after October 1, 2012, and making technical changes, effective May 31, 2012.

See Sec. 4-9a for definition of “public member”.

See Secs. 19a-8 to 19a-12, inclusive, re powers and duties of boards and commissions within Department of Public Health.

Cited. 207 C. 346; 208 C. 492; 220 C. 86; 228 C. 651.

Cited. 40 CS 188.