Newsletter: March 2015. RI DOH Rules and Regs Proposed Amendments » ROBERTS, CARROLL, FELDSTEIN & PEIRCE INCORPORATED

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Rhode Island Department of Health Proposed Amendments to the Rules and Regulations for the Licensure and Discipline of Physicians

The Rhode Island Department of Health recently released proposed amendments to the Rules and Regulations or the Licensure and Discipline of Physicians ("Proposed Regulations"). These changes will the subject of a hearing on March 31, 2015, at 1:00 p.m. in the Auditorium of the Cannon Building (3 Capitol Hill, Providence, RI).

There are a number of additions in the Proposed Regulations. Among the additions are provisions for so-called “Visiting Physicians,” “Limited Medical Registration” for interns, residents or fellows, the limited registration of “academic faculty,” and regulation of the use of lasers in the practice of medicine: Read More

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The proposed changes to the Rhode Island Department of Health’s Rules and Regulations for the Licensure and Discipline of Physicians range from stylistic to substantive. This article will explore some of the more important changes in the rules. A full copy of the proposed rules can be found here.

Perhaps the most important proposed change to the regulations relates to license renewal fees. The Department of Health has added a new rule providing for reduced fees for license renewal under certain circumstances. Under the proposed rules a physician will be eligible for a reduced fee if he/she has met the following requirements:

Successful completion of the Physician Professional Education Program for the current renewal cycle, as established by the Director; and

(i) For the renewal period ending 30 June 2013, documentation of successful completion of the Physician Professional Education Program for the renewal cycle is filed with the Board before 1 May 2014;

(ii) For renewal periods ending 30 June 2016 and later, documentation of successful completion of the Physician Professional Education Program for the current renewal cycle is filed with the Board before the first (1st) day of April of each even-numbered year; and

Payment is received on or before the first (1st) day of July of each even-numbered year.

Public Hearing Draft, Rules and Regulations for the Licensure and Discipline for Physicians, page 9 (emphasis added). Pursuant to the proposed Rules and Regulations Pertaining to the Fee Structure for Licensing, Laboratory and Administrative Services Provided by the Department of Health the standard renewal fee will be $1090 and a renewal with “Approved Training,” as outlined above, will be $870. See Public Hearing Draft Rules and Regulations Pertaining to the Fee Structure for Licensing, Laboratory and Administrative Services Provided by the Department of Health, Page A-13. The proposed rules also eliminate the “Emeritus Renewal”