Statutory framework and purpose
The Medical Board was created by the New Jersey State Legislature, by statutory framework, in an effort to maintain high professional medical and healthcare standards by establishing an administrative body to review and control access to the profession and to investigate licensees accused or suspected of substandard treatment, unethical or professionally inappropriate conduct. The Medical Board is organized under the State Division of Consumer Affairs. It has an administrative staff, an Executive Director, and is made up of physicians from different specialties and lay people, who are appointed by the Governor, and who each serve for a fixed term. In addition, the “legal legwork” of the Medical Board, that is, the investigation of patient complaints and the institution of disciplinary proceedings, is conducted by members of the State Attorney General’s Office, including private investigators, forensic experts, and designated attorneys assigned to process and handle licensing board matters.
The initial function of the Medical Board is to review and process all applications for licensure, by either recent training program graduates or physicians licensed in other states. This is largely accomplished through credentialing review by administrative staff prior to the issuance of a license. This is a responsibility that the Medical Board members take very seriously, and any applicant can expect rigorous scrutiny and review prior to the issuance of a license. The process can take months to complete.
In an era when prior disciplinary matters and malpractice settlements are routinely reported to the National Practitioners Data Bank, an applicant can expect to be asked detailed questions about any prior professional problems or issues. An application can be denied based on a determination by the Medical Board that the applicant, though otherwise qualified, has a problematic past. The applicant may be required to appear before a committee of the Medical Board to explain and provide documentation regarding prior malpractice cases, resignations from a medical staff, or complaints filed by patients or colleagues with other state licensing boards. Prior to undergoing such a process, the concerned practitioner with such issues in his or her past should consult with an attorney who has experience in handling Medical Board matters and who is known to the personnel in the Medical Board office.