The Osteopathic Medical Board of California Adopts New Patients' Rights Initiative to Include Patient Voice in Enforcement Process, Says Consumer Watchdog

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Jan. 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Osteopathic Medical Board of California (OMBC) announced at their January Quarterly Board meeting that for the first time they will consider patient testimony before disciplining a doctor.

The Board will begin accepting patient impact statements from families whose consumer complaints about a doctor's care have been forwarded for investigation. The statement gives families the opportunity to describe, in their own words, the harm caused themselves or a loved one. The statement is one of the new patient rights that Consumer Watchdog and its volunteer advocates moved the Medical Board of California to embrace, and that was passed by the legislature last year in the medical board sunset bill, Senate Bill 815.

Consumer Watchdog's volunteer team of patient advocates testified before the Osteopathic Medical Board to encourage them to also adopt these rights that would bring the patient voice into the enforcement process. Consumer Watchdog places a focus on physician accountability for all doctors including medical doctors licensed by the Medical Board of California as well as Doctors of Osteopathy licensed by the Osteopathic Medical Board of California.

Kimberly Turbin, a patient advocate from Los Angeles, advocated for this patient right that was not available to her when her complaint was investigated for the medical battery she experienced during delivery of her son. "I was interviewed by an investigator but I was unable to speak with him again and had no idea what happened to my complaint," stated Kimberly. "I later read that my doctor surrendered his license just before his death. My patient impact statement would have given the decision makers the information they needed to move this complaint through the process more effectively and would have saved more women from experiencing the pain and trauma that I was forced to endure."

For decades, the Osteopathic Medical Board has decided doctor disciplinary cases without taking into consideration the testimony of the patients impacted or their loved ones. That's part of the reason only 2 percent of investigated cases receive any disciplinary action, said Consumer Watchdog.

The OMBC's new Executive Director Erika Calderon made the surprise announcement at the January board meeting. Only the Medical Board of California was required by SB 815 to implement the new patient impact statement but the Osteopathic Medical Board, under the leadership of Calderon, took the proactive step to provide this patient right to consumers. The patient impact statement will finally ensure that decision makers keep the patient in mind just as much as the doctor when reaching a decision on physician discipline. 

SOURCE Consumer Watchdog