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An Act
ENROLLED SENATE
BILL NO. 443 By: Stanley of the Senate
and
Miller of the House
An Act relating to the practice of medicine; amending
59 O.S. 2021, Section 487, which relates to the
secretary of the State Board of Medical Licensure and
Supervision; modifying duties and requirements
related to the secretary; authorizing the Board to
hire a medical advisor as a separate position;
amending 59 O.S. 2021, Section 493.1, which relates
to requirements for licensure; removing certain
conditions for licensure; modifying requirements for
postgraduate medical training; amending 59 O.S. 2021,
Section 493.2, which relates to foreign applicants;
modifying licensure requirements for foreign
applicants; authorizing the Board to obtain national
criminal history background check on certain
physician applicants; specifying certain background
check procedures; limiting use of background check
results; specifying applicability of certain
provisions; amending 59 O.S. 2021, Section 513, which
relates to quasi-judicial powers of the Board;
broadening applicability of certain provisions;
amending 59 O.S. 2021, Section 518.1, as amended by
Section 4, Chapter 302, O.S.L. 2024 (59 O.S. Supp.
2024, Section 518.1), which relates to the Allied
Professional Peer Assistance Program; authorizing
certain contracts; removing certain duty of the
Board; amending 59 O.S. 2021, Section 519.4, which
relates to licensure requirements for physician
assistants; requiring national criminal history
background check; authorizing the Board to obtain
background checks on physician assistant applicants;
specifying certain background check procedures;
limiting use of background check results; updating
statutory language; updating statutory references;
ENR. S. B. NO. 443 Page 2
providing for codification; providing an effective
date; and declaring an emergency.
SUBJECT: Practice of medicine
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 59 O.S. 2021, Section 487, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 487. A. The State Board of Medical Licensure and
Supervision may appoint the a Board secretary to serve as Medical
Advisor or hire a physician to serve as Medical Advisor to the Board
and the Board staff carry out the statutory duties of the Oklahoma
Allopathic Medical and Surgical Licensure and Supervision Act. The
Board may hire the secretary as an employee of the Board at such
hours of employment and compensation as determined by the Board.
The Board may hire secretary shall be a licensed allopathic
physician to serve as the secretary or medical advisor, or both, to
the Board and its staff. This position shall be in the exempt
unclassified service, as provided for in subsection B of Section
840-5.5 of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes. The secretary shall
not be a member of the Board and shall not vote on Board actions.
B. The secretary of the Board shall preserve a true record of
the official proceedings of the meetings of the Board. He or she
shall also preserve a record of physicians licensed, applying for
such license, or applying for reinstatement of such license in this
state showing:
1. Age;
2. Ethnic origin;
3. Sex;
4. Place of practice and residence;
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5. The time spent in premedical and medical study, together
with the names of the schools attended, and the date of graduation
therefrom, with the degrees granted;
6. The grades made in examination for license or grades filed
in application therefor; and
7. A record of the final disposition of each application for
licensure.
The secretary of the Board shall, on or before the first day of
May in each year, transmit an official copy of the register for the
preceding calendar year, to the Secretary of State for permanent
record, a certified copy of which shall be admitted as evidence in
all courts of the state.
C. The Board may hire a licensed physician to serve as a
medical advisor to the Board and the Board staff. The medical
advisor shall assist in carrying out the statutory duties of the
Board including, but not limited to, compliance and investigations.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 59 O.S. 2021, Section 493.1, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 493.1. A. An applicant to practice medicine and
surgery in this state shall provide to the State Board of Medical
Licensure and Supervision and attest to the following information
and documentation in a manner required by the Board:
1. The applicant’s full name and all aliases or other names
ever used, current address, Social Security number, and date and
place of birth;
2. A photograph of the applicant, taken within the previous
twelve (12) months;
3. All documents and credentials required by the Board, or
notarized photocopies or other verification acceptable to the Board
of such documents and credentials;
4. A list of all jurisdictions, United States or foreign, in
which the applicant is licensed or has applied for licensure to
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practice medicine and surgery or is authorized or has applied for
authorization to practice medicine and surgery;
5. A list of all jurisdictions, United States or foreign, in
which the applicant has been denied licensure or authorization to
practice medicine and surgery or has voluntarily surrendered a
license or an authorization to practice medicine and surgery;
6. A list of all sanctions, judgments, awards, settlements, or
convictions against the applicant in any jurisdiction, United States
or foreign, that would constitute grounds for disciplinary action
under this act the Oklahoma Allopathic Medical and Surgical
Licensure and Supervision Act or the Board’s rules;
7. A detailed educational history, including places,
institutions, dates, and program descriptions, of all his or her
education, including all college, preprofessional, professional, and
professional graduate education;
8. A detailed chronological life history from age eighteen (18)
years to the present, including places and dates of residence,
employment, and military service (United States or foreign), and all
professional degrees or, licenses, or certificates now or ever held;
and
9. Any other information or documentation specifically
requested by the Board that is related to the applicant’s ability to
practice medicine and surgery.
B. The applicant shall possess a valid degree of Doctor of
Medicine from a medical college or school located in the United
States, its territories or possessions, or Canada that was approved
by the Board or by a private nonprofit accrediting body approved by
the Board at the time the degree was conferred. The application
shall be considered by the Board based upon the product and process
of the medical education and training.
C. The applicant shall have satisfactorily completed twelve
(12) months of progressive postgraduate medical training approved as
promulgated by rule by the Board or by a private nonprofit
accrediting body approved by the Board in an institution in the
United States, its territories or possessions, or in programs in
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Canada, England, Scotland, Ireland, Australia or New Zealand
approved by the Board or by a private nonprofit accrediting body
approved by the Board. The Board shall consider as evidence of
acceptability the sponsoring institution’s accreditation by the
Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), the
American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS), the Royal College of
Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the College of Family Physicians
of Canada, the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, the Royal
College of Surgeons of England, the Royal College of Physicians and
Surgeons of Glasgow, or the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.
D. The applicant shall submit a history from the Administration
administration of the Medical School medical school from which the
applicant graduated of any suspension, probation, or disciplinary
action taken against the applicant while a student at that
institution.
E. The applicant shall have passed medical licensing
examination(s) satisfactory to consistent with policies and
procedures regarding the number of medical licensure exam attempts
as established by the United States Medical Licensing Examination
program unless granted an exception by the Board.
F. The applicant shall have demonstrated a familiarity with all
appropriate statutes and rules and regulations of this state and the
federal government relating to the practice of medicine and surgery.
G. The applicant shall be physically, mentally, professionally,
and morally capable of practicing medicine and surgery in a manner
reasonably acceptable to the Board and in accordance with federal
law and shall be required to submit to a physical, mental, or
professional competency examination or a drug dependency evaluation
if deemed necessary by the Board.
H. The applicant shall not have committed or been found guilty
by a competent authority, United States or foreign, of any conduct
that would constitute grounds for disciplinary action under this act
the Oklahoma Allopathic Medical and Surgical Licensure and
Supervision Act or rules of the Board. The Board may modify this
restriction for cause.
ENR. S. B. NO. 443 Page 6
I. Upon request by the Board, the applicant shall make a
personal appearance before the Board or a representative thereof for
interview, examination, or review of credentials. At the discretion
of the Board, the applicant shall be required to present his or her
original medical education credentials for inspection during the
personal appearance.
J. The applicant shall be held responsible for verifying to the
satisfaction of the Board the identity of the applicant and the
validity of all credentials required for his or her medical
licensure. The Board may review and verify medical credentials and
screen applicant records through recognized national physician
information services.
K. The applicant shall have paid all fees and completed and
attested to the accuracy of all application and information forms
required by the Board.
L. Grounds for the denial of a license shall include:
1. Use of false or fraudulent information by an applicant;
2. Suspension or revocation of a license in another state
unless the license has been reinstated in that state;
3. Refusal of licensure in another state other than for
examination failure; and
4. Multiple examination failures.
M. The Board shall not deny a license to a person otherwise
qualified to practice allopathic medicine within the meaning of this
act the Oklahoma Allopathic Medical and Surgical Licensure and
Supervision Act solely because the person’s practice or a therapy is
experimental or nontraditional.
SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 59 O.S. 2021, Section 493.2, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 493.2. A. Foreign applicants shall meet all
requirements for licensure as provided in Sections 492.1 and 493.1
of this title.
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B. 1. A foreign applicant shall possess the degree of Doctor
of Medicine or a Board-approved an equivalent approved by the State
Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision based on satisfactory
completion of educational programs from a foreign medical school as
evidenced by recognized national and international resources
available to the Board.
2. In the event the foreign medical school utilized clerkships
in the United States, its territories, or possessions, such
clerkships shall have been performed in hospitals and schools that
have programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate
Medical Education (ACGME).
C. A foreign applicant shall have a command of the English
language that is satisfactory to the State Board of Medical
Licensure and Supervision, demonstrated by the passage of an oral
English competency examination certification by the Educational
Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG).
D. The Board may promulgate rules requiring all foreign
applicants to satisfactorily complete at least twelve (12) months
and up to twenty-four (24) months of Board-approved progressive
graduate medical training as determined necessary by the Board for
the protection of the public health, safety, and welfare.
E. All credentials, diplomas, and other required documentation
in a foreign language submitted to the Board by such applicants
shall be accompanied by notarized English translations.
F. Foreign applicants shall provide satisfactory evidence of
having met the requirements for permanent residence or temporary
nonimmigrant status as set forth by the United States Immigration
and Naturalization Service Department of Homeland Security.
G. Foreign applicants shall provide a certified copy of the
Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG)
Certificate or the Medical Council of Canada Certificate of
Registration to the Board at such time and in such manner as
required by the Board. The Board may waive the requirement for an
Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates Certificate or
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a Medical Council of Canada Certificate of Registration by rule for
good cause shown.
SECTION 4. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 493.8 of Title 59, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. The State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision is
authorized to obtain a national criminal history background check on
physician applicants seeking a letter of qualification for purposes
of registration for expedited licensure through the Interstate
Medical Licensure Compact pursuant to Section 493.7 of Title 59 of
the Oklahoma Statutes.
B. Oklahoma physician applicants seeking a letter of
qualification under the Compact shall be fingerprinted for the
national criminal history background check. Applicant fingerprints
shall be submitted to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and
the national criminal history background check shall be conducted in
accordance with Section 150.9 of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
The Bureau shall return national criminal history results to the
Board.
C. Results obtained from the national criminal history
background check shall be used solely for the screening of physician
applicants and shall be retained by the Board. The Board shall not
disseminate criminal history record information resulting from the
background check.
D. This section shall only apply to Oklahoma physician
applicants seeking an expedited license under the Compact.
SECTION 5. AMENDATORY 59 O.S. 2021, Section 513, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 513. A. 1. The State Board of Medical Licensure and
Supervision is hereby given quasi-judicial powers while sitting as a
Board for the purpose of revoking, suspending, or imposing other
disciplinary actions upon the license of physicians or surgeons of
this state other licensees of the Board, and appeals from its
decisions shall be taken to the Supreme Court of this state within
thirty (30) days of the date that a copy of the decision is mailed
ENR. S. B. NO. 443 Page 9
to the appellant, as shown by the certificate of mailing attached to
the decision.
2. The license of any physician or surgeon other licensee of
the Board who has been convicted of any felony in within or without
the State of Oklahoma outside of this state, and whether in a state
or federal court, may be suspended by the Board upon the submission
thereto of a certified copy of the judgment and sentence of the
trial court and the certificate of the clerk of the court of the
conviction.
3. Upon proof of a felony conviction by the courts or any plea
of a felony, the Board shall revoke the physician’s license of the
physician or other licensee of the Board. If the felony conviction
is overturned on appeal and no other appeals are sought, the Board
shall restore the license of the physician. Court records of such a
conviction shall be prima facie evidence of the conviction.
4. The Board shall also revoke and cancel the license of any
physician or surgeon other licensee of the Board who has been
charged in a court of record of this or other states of the United
States or in the federal court with the commission of a felony and
who is a fugitive from justice, upon the submission of a certified
copy of the charge together with a certificate from the clerk of the
court that after the commitment of the crime the physician or
surgeon other licensee of the Board fled from the jurisdiction of
the court and is a fugitive from justice.
B. To the extent necessary to allow the Board the power to
enforce disciplinary actions imposed by the Board, in the exercise
of its authority, the Board may punish willful violations of its
orders and impose additional penalties as allowed by Section 509.1
of this title.
SECTION 6. AMENDATORY 59 O.S. 2021, Section 518.1, as
amended by Section 4, Chapter 302, O.S.L. 2024 (59 O.S. Supp. 2024,
Section 518.1), is amended to read as follows:
Section 518.1. A. There is hereby established the Allied
Professional Peer Assistance Program to rehabilitate allied medical
professionals whose competency may be compromised because of the
abuse of drugs or alcohol, so that such allied medical professionals
ENR. S. B. NO. 443 Page 10
can be treated and can return to or continue the practice of allied
medical practice in a manner which will benefit the public. The
program shall be under the supervision and control of the State
Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision.
B. The Board may appoint one or more peer assistance evaluation
advisory committees, hereinafter called the “allied peer assistance
committees”. Each of these committees shall be composed of members,
the majority of which shall be licensed allied medical professionals
with expertise in chemical dependency. The allied peer assistance
committees shall function under the authority of the State Board of
Medical Licensure and Supervision in accordance with the rules of
the Board. The program may be one hundred percent (100%) outsourced
to professional groups specialized in this arena. The committee
members shall serve without pay, but may be reimbursed for the
expenses incurred in the discharge of their official duties in
accordance with the State Travel Reimbursement Act.
C. The Board may appoint and employ or contract with a
qualified person or persons to serve as program coordinators and
shall fix such person’s compensation. The program may employ or
contract with a director for purposes of ongoing nonclerical
administrative duties and shall fix the director’s compensation.
The Board shall define the duties of the program coordinators and
director who shall report directly to the Board.
D. The Board is authorized to adopt and revise rules, not
inconsistent with the Oklahoma Allopathic Medical and Surgical
Licensure and Supervision Act, as may be necessary to enable it to
carry into effect the provisions of this section.
E. A portion of licensing fees for each allied profession, not
to exceed Ten Dollars ($10.00), may be used to implement and
maintain the Allied Professional Peer Assistance Program.
F. All monies paid pursuant to subsection E of this section
shall be deposited in an agency special account revolving fund under
the State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision, and shall be
used for the general operating expenses of the Allied Professional
Peer Assistance Program, including payment of personal services.
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G. Records The records and management information system of the
professionals enrolled in the Allied Professional Peer Assistance
Program and reports shall be maintained in the program office in a
place separate and apart from the records of the Board. The records
shall be made public only by subpoena and court order; provided
however, confidential treatment shall be cancelled canceled upon
default by the professional in complying with the requirements of
the program.
H. Any person making a report to the Board or to an allied peer
assistance committee regarding a professional suspected of
practicing allied medical practice while habitually intemperate or
addicted to the use of habit-forming drugs, or a professional’s
progress or lack of progress in rehabilitation, shall be immune from
any civil or criminal action resulting from such reports, provided
such reports are made in good faith.
I. A professional’s participation in the Allied Professional
Peer Assistance Program in no way precludes additional proceedings
by the Board for acts or omissions of acts not specifically related
to the circumstances resulting in the professional’s entry into the
program. However, in the event the professional defaults from the
program, the Board may discipline the professional for those acts
which led to the professional entering the program.
J. The Board may suspend the license immediately upon
notification that the licensee has defaulted from the Allied
Professional Peer Assistance Program, and shall assign a hearing
date for the matter to be presented to the Board.
K. All treatment information, whether or not recorded, and all
communications between a professional and therapist are both
privileged and confidential. In addition, the identity of all
persons who have received or are receiving treatment services shall
be considered confidential and privileged.
L. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise
requires:
1. “Board” means the State Board of Medical Licensure and
Supervision; and
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2. “Allied peer assistance committee” means the peer assistance
evaluation advisory committee created in this section, which is
appointed by the State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision to
carry out specified duties.
M. The Allied Professional Peer Assistance Program may contract
with outside entities for services that are not available to it or
can be obtained for a lesser cost through such a contract. The
contract shall be ratified by the Board.
SECTION 7. AMENDATORY 59 O.S. 2021, Section 519.4, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 519.4. To be eligible for licensure as a physician
assistant pursuant to the provisions of Section 519.1 et seq. of
this title an applicant shall:
1. Have graduated from an accredited physician assistant
program recognized by the State Board of Medical Licensure and
Supervision; and
2. Successfully pass an examination for physician assistants
recognized by the Board; and
3. Obtain a national criminal history background check.
SECTION 8. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 519.4A of Title 59, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. The State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision is
authorized to obtain a national criminal history background check as
a condition of eligibility for individuals seeking:
1. Licensure to practice as a physician assistant for initial
licensure in this state pursuant to the provisions of the Physician
Assistant Act, Section 519.1 et seq. of Title 59 of the Oklahoma
Statutes; or
2. A Compact privilege under the PA Licensure Compact, Section
545.1 et seq. of Title 59 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
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B. Applicants shall be fingerprinted for the national criminal
history background check. Applicant fingerprints shall be submitted
to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and the national
criminal history background check shall be conducted in accordance
with Section 150.9 of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes. The Bureau
shall return national criminal history results to the Board.
C. Results obtained from the national criminal history
background check shall be used solely for the screening of
applicants and shall be retained by the Board. The Board shall not
disseminate criminal history record information resulting from the
background check.
SECTION 9. This act shall become effective July 1, 2025.
SECTION 10. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
of the public peace, health or safety, an emergency is hereby
declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
ENR. S. B. NO. 443 Page 14
Passed the Senate the 14th day of May, 2025.
Presiding Officer of the Senate
Passed the House of Representatives the 30th day of April, 2025.
Presiding Officer of the House
of Representatives
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Received by the Office of the Governor this ____________________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________
Approved by the Governor of the State of Oklahoma this _________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
_________________________________
Governor of the State of Oklahoma
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE
Received by the Office of the Secretary of State this __________
day of __________________, 20 _______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________