Recent News

Accepting applications for Dietetics and Respiratory Care Advisory Council members

March 22, 2021    6891    6891   

The Medical Board is seeking applicants for seats on the Dietetics Advisory Council and the Respiratory Care Advisory Council.

For the Dietetics Advisory Council, the council advises the board on issues related to the practice of dietetics. The time commitment is four (4) meetings per year in Columbus. Council members are reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses such as mileage and parking. The council has upcoming openings for four registered dietitians. 

For the Respiratory Care Advisory Council, the council advises the board on issues related to licensing, existing and proposed rules pertaining to the practice of respiratory care, standards for approval of respiratory care education programs. The time commitment is four (4) meetings per year in Columbus. Council members are reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses such as mileage and parking. The council has upcoming openings for a physician who has clinical training and experience in pulmonary disease as well as a member representing consumers.

The applications can be found below. If you know of any person who meets this criteria and is interested in this great opportunity for community service, please encourage them to fill out an online application.

Dietetics Advisory Council Application

Respiratory Care Advisory Council Application

 

March 2021 eNews

March 17, 2021    7075    7075   

The March issue of the Medical Board's eNews is available:

• House Bills 404 and 442

• continuing education audits to resume

• COVID-19 updates

• ICD-10 code reminder

• BWCs virtual Medical & Health Symposium

• safety alert regarding hyaluron pens

• duty to report

• death certificates

• new prescriber compounding rules

• subject matter experts

Agenda posted for March 2021 board meeting

March 9, 2021    6354    6354   

The State Medical Board of Ohio will livestream its committee and board meetings beginning at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 10.

This open meeting will be shared publicly via livestream on the board's YouTube channel. The agenda can be viewed here.

Advisory Council meetings to be livestreamed

March 8, 2021    6690    6690   

The State Medical Board of Ohio will livestream its Dietetics and Respiratory Care Advisory Council meetings. These open meetings will both be shared publicly via the board's YouTube page.

Dietetics Advisory Council 3/8, 2:00 p.m. agenda

Respiratory Care Advisory Council 3/9, 2:00 p.m. agenda

House Bill 442 - changes to Ohio law

March 4, 2021    7652    7652   

On January 7, 2021, Governor DeWine signed House Bill 442 into law. A number of the statutory changes will impact State Medical Board of Ohio licensees.
 
Below is a summary of the changes in Ohio law that become effective April 12, 2021. Licensees are encouraged to read the complete law in the Ohio Revised Code (ORC). The Medical Board has also created an FAQ document to address questions you may have due to these changes. 
 
Cosmetic Therapists 
•    The license requirement for cosmetic therapists in Ohio has been eliminated. Cosmetic therapists will no longer be licensed by the Medical Board or any other licensing entity in Ohio.
•    A definition of cosmetic therapy has been added to Ohio Revised Code chapter 4713, which regulates the Ohio State Cosmetology and Barber Board. The revised chapter indicates that an individual may provide cosmetic therapy in a salon if authorized by the Ohio State Cosmetology and Barber Board.

Oriental Medicine Practitioner 
•    The license requirement for oriental medicine practitioners in Ohio has been eliminated.
•    All oriental medicine licenses will be converted to acupuncture licenses under Medical Board regulation, and licensees will be required to meet Ohio’s continuing education requirements for acupuncture in order to renew their license. The renewal date and license numbers for previous holders of oriental medicine licenses will not change.

Massage Therapy 
•    The amount of education hours required to complete a massage therapy program will be reduced from 750 to 600 hours. The amended education hours must meet the minimum requirements: 
   o    Two hundred seventy-five hours in anatomy and physiology and pathology;
   o    Two hundred seventy-five hours in massage theory and practical, including hygiene;
   o    Twenty-five hours in ethics;
   o    Twenty-five hours in business and law.

Physician Assistant 
•    Changes in the law will now allow the Medical Board to recognize any accrediting organization for physician assistant education programs. Previously, the board required physician assistants to be accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education.

Physicians 
•    The amount of continuing education hours a physician may earn providing health care services as a volunteer will be increased to ten hours, however the accrual rate will change. Five hours of volunteer time will be equal to one hour of CME.
•    Clinical research facility certificate: All qualifications, except an unrestricted license to practice medicine in another state or country and appointment to serve in Ohio on the academic staff of a medical school in good standing with the Medical Board, have been eliminated for this license type. All renewal fees and CME requirements have also been eliminated for this license type.
•    Visiting clinical professional development certificates: All qualification requirements except (1) holds an unrestricted license issued in another country and (2) has been accepted for participation in the clinical professional development program of a medical school that is accredited, as well as the certificate fee, have been eliminated for this license type.
•    Visiting podiatric faculty certificates: This certificate fee for this license type has been eliminated.

February 2020 eNews

February 19, 2021    6754    6754   

The February issue of the Medical Board's eNews is available:

• Celebrating 125 years

• SMBO Joins Ohio's Human Trafficking Task Force

• House Bill 404

• Scam Alert

• COVID-19 Updates

• Medical Board Reviews Petitions

• Duty to Report

• Licensee Obligation to Complete Death Certificates

• Track Your CE/CME with CE Broker

• Prescriber Compounding Rules, effective March 31

• Board Seeks Subject Matter Experts

Medical Board Considers New Qualifying Conditions

February 10, 2021    9844    9844   

The State Medical Board of Ohio will consider adding the following as qualifying conditions for Ohio’s Medical Marijuana Control Program:

• Autism (2 petitions)

• Huntington’s Disease

• Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia

• Restless Leg Syndrome

• Spasticity and Spasms

• Terminal Illness (2 petitions)

Written public comment on these conditions will be accepted February 11 – February 26, 2021. Anyone may submit their comments by emailing MedicalMarijuana@med.ohio.gov.

 

Petition Process

On Wednesday, February 10, 2021 the board’s Medical Marijuana Committee met and voted to recommend to the full board to reject petitions that did not meet requirements and confirmed petitions that should move forward for expert review and public comment. Later this year, the board will decide if they should be added to the list of conditions which can qualify patients to participate in Ohio’s Medical Marijuana Control Program.

During the submission period, petitions were filed electronically through the state’s website, medicalmarijuana.ohio.gov. A petition needed to include (per Ohio Administrative Code 4731-32-05):

• The name and contact information

• Specific disease or condition requested to be added

• Information from experts who specialize in the study of the disease or condition

• Relevant medical or scientific evidence

• Consideration of whether conventional medical therapies are insufficient to treat or alleviate the disease or condition

• Evidence supporting the use of medical marijuana to treat or alleviate the disease or condition and other types of medical or scientific documentation

• Letters of support provided by physicians

 

The Medical Board received 30 petitions from November 1- December 31, 2020.

16 petitions failed to meet the statutory and rule requirements for consideration by the board. These petitions were recommended for rejection by the committee.  The full board will consider the rejection recommendations at the March 10^th meeting.

6 petitions failed to meet the statutory and rule requirements for consideration by the board. However, these petitions either explicitly petitioned for a condition already covered (e.g., fibromyalgia), or the petition was for a condition closely associated with a condition already covered (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis and chronic pain). These petitions were rejected by the committee.

The petitions for restless leg syndrome, Huntington’s disease, spasticity and spasms and terminal illness will move forward for expert review as the committee felt they met the requirements for consideration and were not previously considered.

Petitions for autism and anxiety were rejected by the board in 2019 and 2020. During their deliberation on February 10, 2021, the committee agreed that the petitions for autism and panic disorder with agoraphobia met the requirements of new scientific information outlined in Ohio Administrative Code 4731-32-05. They will move forward for consideration; however the board will serve as its own expert.

 

Next Steps

Petitions which do meet the requirements for consideration will proceed and be reviewed by subject matter experts. These experts may include physicians who specialize in the named conditions, experts who have experience with medical marijuana programs in other states, etc. Petitions for the same condition will be combined for the reviews.

The committee reviews the subject matter experts’ reports, and then makes a recommendation to the full board for a vote to adopt/deny the petition to add the qualifying conditions. That full board vote is expected this summer.

The Medical Board’s rules (Ohio Administrative Code) for the qualifying conditions can be found here: http://codes.ohio.gov/oac/4731-32-05.

The next condition petition window will be November 1 – December 31, 2021.

Agendas posted for February 2021 Committee and Board Meetings

February 9, 2021    6481    6481   

The State Medical Board of Ohio will livestream its committee meetings and Board Meeting on Wednesday, February 10.

These open meetings will be shared publicly via livestreams on the board's YouTube channel. The agendas can be viewed here.

State Medical Board of Ohio Joins Ohio’s Human Trafficking Task Force

February 5, 2021    27190    27190   

NEWS RELEASE: The State Medical Board of Ohio is honored to have been included in Governor DeWine’s expansion of Ohio’s Human Trafficking Task Force.

On January 29, 2021, Governor DeWine signed Executive Order 2021-02D, which increases the number of collaborating agencies in the task force and seeks to pursue fresh strategies to combat human trafficking in Ohio. The task force was established in 2012 and is a division of the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s Office of Criminal Justice Services. 

The entire news release can be viewed here.

Click here to view the board’s human trafficking awareness videos.  

If you or someone you know is a victim of human trafficking, help is available by calling 888-373-7888 or by texting INFO or HELP to 233733.

Spoofing Scam Continues

February 4, 2021    9791    9791   

Licensees should remain aware that a scam continues to target and affect Ohio prescribers. Scammers are calling, faxing and emailing medical professionals claiming to be agents of the State Medical Board of Ohio (SMBO), agents of the DEA or agents of the FBI. These scammers claim that the professionals’ medical and drug licenses have been compromised and are being used by other entities in a drug trafficking scheme. As a result of these allegations, the scammers direct the medical provider to wire money to foreign bank accounts. Please remember, SMBO investigators, DEA agents and FBI agents will not ask for fine payment or personal/sensitive information over the phone.

When the scammers communicate via phone call, they spoof the legitimate phone number for the SMBO (614-466-3934). Be aware that scammers have the ability to spoof phone numbers to appear as though they legitimately belong to the entity they are claiming to be. If the Medical Board is truly conducting an investigation, and that individual faces action against their license, they will receive an official notice of opportunity for a hearing either via certified mail or by personal service. Further, emails originating from actual Medical Board staff end in @med.ohio.gov.