Medical Board Delays MOL Pilot Program Decision

The State Medical Board of Ohio met on Aug. 9 to discuss whether to implement a Maintenance of Licensure (MOL) pilot program in Ohio. The board was unable to come to a consensus and, yet again, instructed the Medical Board staff to better define how the Medical Board would implement such a program. Specifically, they directed Executive Director Rick Whitehouse to work with the board's Ad Hoc MOL Committee to develop a plan. Realizing that the Ad Hoc MOL Committee needs time to develop such a plan, the Medical Board instructed the Committee to have the plan ready for consideration at the Oct. 11 meeting.

In addition to the direction given above, the Medical Board approved the following MOL definition to better define their view on the subject of MOL.

Maintenance of Licensure is a system of continuous professional development that requires all licensed physicians to demonstrate, as a condition for licensure renewal, involvement in lifelong learning that is objective, relevant to practice and improves care.

It was apparent that while most of the members of the Medical Board support the general concept of MOL, not all of the members are convinced additional MOL requirements should be implemented. Not surprisingly, the OSMA's opposition to additional MOL requirements was brought up several times during the MOL discussion.

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