A very hard-fought process has resulted in the passage of SB1148 through the Texas Senate 31-0.  We owe a huge thank you to Sen Dawn Buckingham for her efforts in making this happen.  

The next step for the bill is the Texas House. Please contact your Representative ASAP and ask him or her to support SB1148.

If you need to find out who represents you, please visit: http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/find-your-representative/

If you already know who your Representative is, you can visit http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/ and click on his or her name for contact information.

There were many revisions that were made to the original language, but the current text is very strong in prohibiting the typical onerous mandates and high-stakes testing required for maintenance of certification.  This is a victory for both patients and physicians and sends the message that our profession will not submit to the demands of corporate profiteers. The distraction of irrelevant busywork is detrimental to patient care–we can do much better than MOC to continually improve our practices.

The bill restricts the kind of compliance requirements that can be made for maintenance of certification.  It allows a more open and competitive market for various organizations to offer products that satisfy maintenance of certification criteria based on CME credits and without the previous intrusive and onerous mandates.  High stakes exams are prohibited.

Senator Buckingham also made sure that original certification stands and is recognized by the state of Texas.  She truly did everything possible to protect the patient and physician from intrusive testing requirements, including prohibiting the submission and sale of patient data by certifying boards.

Congratulations to Senator Buckingham!  Now, if the Texas House will follow suit, it will be a significant turn for the medical profession away from regulatory overload to a better focus on patient care.