Member Board Spotlight

Member Board Spotlight highlights new developments and innovative practices by FSMB’s member medical boards.

Alabama Board of Medical Examiners: Educating Licensees about the Complaints Process
Carla Kruger, Public Information Officer

The Alabama Board of Medical Examiners recently published a special issue of its quarterly newsletter to licensees that featured an in-depth look at how the board processes complaints against licensees from patients, hospitals and others.

The issue included these sections:  

• When a Licensee is Visited or Contacted by an Investigator: A detailed explanation of how the board gathers information when investigating a complaint; what licensees can expect when they’re contacted by a board investigator; and what will occur once the investigation has been completed.
• Specific Complaints and Avoiding Them: An overview of the most common complaints the board receives from patients, hospitals and others and steps licensees can take to avoid being subject to such complaints.
• Complaints to the Board: A concise overview of how the board’s complaint process works from start to finish.

Why did the Alabama board decide to develop this special issue on complaints?

We felt getting this information to our licensees in an easy-to-read format with a minimum of medical jargon could help prevent some of the complaints from happening in the future. This sort of outreach is important both from a preventative standpoint for licensees, and from a patient safety perspective for the public.     

What has been the reaction from your readers?

The issue was well-received by licensees. In fact, a number of readers told us they thought it was the best issue of the newsletter we’d ever produced. They found the content quite interesting and helpful and, in some instances, surprising. I think the way we were able to articulate how complaints can impact physicians individually helped make it more relatable for our readers. 

What are the most frequent complaints the board receives from year-to-year at the board?

The range of complaints is rather broad, but in general these are the main categories (in no particular order):

• Quality of care
• Controlled substances prescribing
• Boundary issues
• Substance use disorder
• Communication
• Maintaining proper medical records
• Abandonment
• Patients and medical records

What complaints discussed in the issue did your licensees seem most unaware of?

Communication issues between physicians and patients. Licensees often don’t seem to understand the huge impact their words – particularly how they say things – can have on a patient’s view of them. For example, physicians may need to take the time with some patients to explain how a medication works and its possible side effects, and not just say, “Take this,” and move on to the next patient.  

The inefficient transfer of patients’ records is another complaint that could be easily avoided with greater awareness and diligence by physicians.

These sort of complaints are low-key things compared to more serious behavioral issues, but still can create issues for licensees having to spend time and energy responding to a board investigation.

Can other state medical boards use the material in this issue to help educate their own licensees?

Yes. We only ask that they credit the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners and Medical Licensure Commission of Alabama.