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 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: April 14, 2004
 
ARIZONA MEDICAL BOARD TOP IN NATION FOR THREE YEAR DISCIPLINARY RATES
 

Scottsdale, Ariz. – According to Public Citizen’s Health Research Group, a Washington, D.C.-based consumer watchdog organization, the Arizona Medical Board ranks first in the nation for serious disciplinary actions taken over a three-year average. For actions taken over the last calendar year, Public Citizen ranked the Board fourth – the same ranking awarded in a recent Federation of State Medical Boards report for the total number of Board actions.

Public Citizen defines serious disciplinary actions as revocations, surrenders, suspensions and probationary or restrictive orders per 1,000 doctors in each state.

This is the first year Public Citizen has released a composite three-year average ranking. “The composite index demonstrates the good work medical boards perform on a consistent basis,” said Board Executive Director Barry A. Cassidy, Ph.D., P.A.-C.

The following chart demonstrates the Board’s individual year rankings and composite three-year rankings over the last five years:

Year
Individual Year Ranking
Composite 3-Year Ranking
2003
4th
1st
2002
6th
3rd
2001
1st
5th
2000
7th
18th
1999
21st
28th

Public Citizen cites multiple factors that make a difference in a medical board’s ability to take serious disciplinary actions including adequate funding from licensee fees, adequate staffing, proactive investigations, use of available and reliable data from outside sources, excellent leadership, independence from state medical societies and other parts of state government, and a reasonable statutory framework for disciplining doctors.

Last week, the Federation of State Medical Boards ranked the Arizona Medical Board 4th in the nation for the total number of actions taken over the last calendar year and has placed the Board among the top ten medical boards in the country for the last four consecutive years.


The Arizona Medical Board is comprised of 12 members, including four public members and eight physicians. Board members are appointed by the Governor and may serve up to two five-year terms. The Board is responsible for licensing and disciplining over 15,000 medical doctors in Arizona. For more information on the Board or to obtain information on a licensee, see the Board’s website at http://www.azmdboard.org.