News

MSDC attended the June 29 meeting of the DC Board of Medicine. As part of its meeting, there was a government affairs report on bills moving through the DC Council which impact the DC Board of Medicine.  These include:  

• Consent for Vaccinations of Minors Emergency Amendment Act of 2022 (Bill 24-890). This emergency legislation allows certain minors to seek CDC-approved vaccines without consent of a parent or legal guardian if a reasonable attempt is made to obtain such consent. The “reasonable attempt” requirement aims to address challenges from a federal judge who barred enforcement of DC’s existing law allowing minors to obtain vaccines without parental consent. The legislation was crafted using recommendations from the MSDC-led Minor Consent for Treatment Working Group created by the Committee on Health.
• Protecting Health Professionals Providing Reproductive Health Care Amendment Act of 2022 (Bill 24-830). This recently introduced bill would “prohibit disciplinary measures against licensed health professionals solely for providing abortion and reproductive health care services to patients who live in states where the services are illegal.” As introduced, the bill would prevent disciplinary action against a doctor, so long as the physician is acting within scope of practice. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Health. On a related note, see MSDC’s primer on abortion law in the District.
• High Need Health Care Careers Scholarship and Healthcare Loan Repayment Program Emergency Act (B24-852) Legislation passed the Committee of the Whole on emergency basis to establish scholarships and a support program “for the purpose of increasing the number of healthcare workers in high-need healthcare careers in the District by providing supports and services to individuals who agree to serve as such workers in the District.” The emergency legislation is under Mayoral review and permanent legislation to expand the program may be forthcoming.  

On a related note, MSDC is a member of the DC Healthcare Workforce Task Force, which makes recommendations to the Mayor on the strategies and investments necessary to address current supply and demand challenges in the healthcare workforce.

The Board Chair indicated that she plans to review Federation of State Medical Boards policy on provider misinformation at a future meeting. 

The DC Board of Medicine also reported its current licensees. As of June 2022, there were 12,628 physicians (MD, DO) licensed in the District of Columbia. The complete census is as follows: