Graduate medical education capacity: report.

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide details on specific stakeholders or the exact composition of the workgroup beyond mentioning interested parties.

Report on Medical Residency Positions

This legislation requires California's Department of Health Care Access and Information to create a workgroup that will study the availability of medical residency positions in the state, with recommendations due by July 1, 2028.

What This Bill Does

• Creates a workgroup to discuss graduate medical education capacity in California.
• Requires the workgroup to include interested stakeholders such as doctors and hospital administrators.
• Asks the Department of Health Care Access and Information to prepare a report with recommendations for increasing residency positions, improving geographic distribution, and reducing barriers for international graduates by July 1, 2028.

Who It Names or Affects

• The Department of Health Care Access and Information
• Medical professionals, including residents and international graduates
• Hospitals and medical facilities

Terms To Know

Workgroup

A group of people brought together to discuss and solve specific issues, in this case, about medical residency positions.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill will no longer be active after January 1, 2030.
• It does not specify how many times a Physician Graduate License can be renewed.
• The exact fees for the new license are to be determined by the Medical Board of California.

Official Summary Text

AB 2398, as amended, Alvarez.
Practice of medicine: Physician Graduate License Act.
Graduate medical education capacity: report.
Existing law establishes the Department of Health Care Access and Information in the Health and Welfare Agency and requires the department to perform specified functions relating to, among other things, health policy and planning, health professions development, and health facility data.
This bill would require the department to convene a workgroup to discuss graduate medical education capacity in California, with a focus on access to residency positions. The bill would require the workgroup to be composed of interested stakeholders, as specified. The bill would require the department, in consultation with the Medical Board of California, to prepare and
submit a report to the appropriate committees of the Legislature on or before July 1, 2028, that includes, among other information, recommendations for increasing residency capacity in California, improving geographic and specialty distribution, and reducing barriers to entry, including for international medical graduates. The bill would repeal its provisions on January 1, 2030.
Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, establishes the Medical Board of California to license and regulate the practice of medicine and specifies educational, examination, and other qualifications for licensure as a physician and surgeon.
This bill would establish the Physician Graduate License Act, under which the board would be required to issue a physician graduate license to an applicant who has graduated from medical school but has not completed a residency program and who satisfies specified requirements. The bill would require a physician graduate to practice under a supervising practice agreement with a sponsoring physician and surgeon who meets specified requirements, including maintaining an active practice in California.
This bill would make a physician graduate license valid for 3 years
and renewable for an unspecified number of 3-year periods, subject to certain conditions. The bill would require the board to set application, licensure, and renewal fees for the physician graduate license, as specified. The bill would provide that, for the purposes of medical practice, a physician graduate is considered a full-scope physician.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF