Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 3, September 1, 2024
RELATES TO:
KRS
214.610,
214.620,
218A.205,
311.565(1)(b),
311.601,
620.020
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY:
KRS
311.601(1) authorizes the
board to promulgate an administrative regulation that establishes requirements
to ensure the continuing professional competency of licensees. This
administrative regulation establishes continuing medical education requirements
for physicians in Kentucky, including requirements for courses relating to the
use of KASPER, pain management, and addiction disorders required for physicians
who prescribe or dispense controlled substances in the Commonwealth of
Kentucky.
Section 1. Continuing
Medical Education. Except as provided in Section 4 of this administrative
regulation, at the time a licensee seeks to renew his or her license, the
licensee shall submit verification of satisfactory completion of a program of
continuing medical education using the Continuing Medical Education
Certification Form by the renewal deadline established in
201
KAR 9:051.
Section
2. In order to meet the continuing medical education requirements,
a licensee shall:
(1) Submit evidence that
thirty (30) of the sixty (60) hours were certified in Category I by an
organization accredited by the:
(a)
Accreditation Council on Continuing Medical Education; or
(b) The American Osteopathic
Association;
(2) Submit
evidence that:
(a) The licensee has received
the American Medical Association's "physician recognition award", or the
American Osteopathic Association's "osteopathic physicians' recognition award";
and
(b) The award is in effect at
the time the license is renewed;
(3) Submit verification that the:
(a) Licensee has completed continuing medical
education requirements of any specialty organization which is recognized by the
American Medical Association or American Osteopathic Association as at least
equivalent to their recognition awards; and
(b) Certification is in effect at the time a
license is renewed; or
(4) Submit verification that the licensee is
in, or has been in, an approved postgraduate training program. Each year of
postgraduate training shall be equivalent to fifty (50) hours of continuing
medical education.
Section
3. Required Hours of Continuing Education.
(1)
(a) For
each three (3) year continuing education cycle, a licensee shall complete a
total of sixty (60) hours of continuing medical education, if his or her
license has been renewed for each year of a continuing medical education
cycle.
(b) If the license has not
been renewed for each year of a continuing medical education cycle, a licensee
shall complete twenty (20) hours of continuing medical education for each year
for which the license has been renewed.
(c) A licensee whose initial licensure was
granted the first year of the continuing education cycle for which verification
is submitted shall complete sixty (60) hours of continuing medical education
before the end of the cycle.
(d) A
licensee whose initial licensure was granted the second year of the continuing
education cycle for which verification is submitted shall complete forty (40)
hours of continuing medical education before the end of the cycle.
(e) A licensee whose initial licensure was
granted the third year of the continuing education cycle for which verification
is submitted shall complete twenty (20) hours of continuing medical education
before the end of the cycle.
(2) Upon renewal of licensure following the
end of a three (3) year continuing education cycle, a licensee shall certify
that he or she has met the continuing medical education requirements for the
cycle as provided by this section.
(3) Verification of completion of continuing
medical education requirements shall be submitted upon request by the
board.
Section 4.
Extensions of Time.
(1) To request an
extension of time, the licensee shall submit:
(a) A completed Request for Extension to
Complete Required CME Hours; and
(b) The fee required by
201 KAR 9:041,
Section 1(17).
(2) The
board may grant an extension of time to a physician who for sufficient cause
has not yet received continuing medical education certification, following the
submission of the items required by subsection (1) of this section. For the
purposes of this subsection, sufficient cause includes situations such as the
following:
(a) An illness;
(b) Any event meeting the Family Medical
Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993,
29 U.S.C.
2601 et seq.,
Pub.L.
103-3 criteria, and the federal regulations
implementing the act, 29 C.F.R. Part 825 ;
(c) Financial exigencies; or
(d) Practice circumstances making it
prohibitive to attend the courses.
Section 5.
(1) For each three (3) year continuing
education cycle beginning on January 1, 2015, a licensee who is authorized to
prescribe or dispense controlled substances within the commonwealth at any time
during that cycle shall complete at least four and one-half (4.5) hours of
approved continuing education hours relating to the use of KASPER, pain
management, addiction disorders, or a combination of two (2) or more of those
subjects. A licensee may satisfy this requirement by completing a single
approved program of four and one-half (4.5) hours or longer or by completing
multiple approved programs for a total of four and one-half (4.5) hours or
longer for that cycle.
(2) Each
physician licensed to practice medicine or osteopathy within the Commonwealth
of Kentucky who is authorized to prescribe or dispense controlled substances
within the commonwealth from July 20, 2012 through the end of the three (3)
year continuing education cycle beginning on January 1, 2012 and ending on
December 31, 2014 shall complete at least four and one-half (4.5) hours of
approved Category I Credit continuing medical education hours relating to the
use of KASPER, pain management, addiction disorders, or a combination of two
(2) or more of those subjects on or before December 31, 2014. The licensee may
satisfy this requirement by completing a single approved program of four and
one-half (4.5) hours or longer or by completing multiple approved programs for
a total of four and one-half (4.5) hours or longer for this cycle.
(3) Each physician licensed to practice
medicine or osteopathy within the Commonwealth of Kentucky who is authorized to
prescribe or dispense controlled substances during the calendar years 2013 and
2014, but not during any portion of 2012, shall complete at least three (3)
hours of approved Category I Credit continuing medical education hours relating
to the use of KASPER, pain management, addiction disorders, or a combination of
two (2) or more of those subjects on or before December 31, 2014. The licensee
may satisfy this requirement by completing a single approved program of three
(3) hours or longer or by completing multiple approved programs for a total of
three (3) hours or longer for those two (2) years.
(4) Each physician licensed to practice
medicine or osteopathy within the Commonwealth of Kentucky who is authorized to
prescribe or dispense controlled substances during calendar year 2014, but not
during any portion of 2012 or 2013, shall complete at least one and one-half
(1.5) hours of approved Category I Credit continuing medical education hours
relating to the use of KASPER, pain management, addiction disorders, or a
combination of two (2) or more of those subjects on or before December 31,
2014. The licensee may satisfy this requirement by completing a single approved
program of one and one-half (1.5) hours or longer or by completing multiple
approved programs for a total of one and one-half (1.5) hours or longer for
that calendar year.
(5)
(a) To qualify as approved continuing
education under this section, the educational program shall have been approved
in advance for the specified number of continuing education hours by the
board.
(b) The board may approve an
educational program that:
1. Consists of a
live presentation;
2. Is presented
by a live or recorded webinar; or
3. Is presented through an online
module.
(c) The board
shall maintain a current listing of approved continuing education programs on
its official Web site,
www.kbml.ky.gov.
(6)
(a) In
order to lawfully prescribe or dispense controlled substances within the
Commonwealth of Kentucky, a licensee shall complete the required number of
continuing education hours for each period designated in this
section.
(b) Failure to complete
the required number of continuing education hours for the required period or to
submit the required written verification within the time specified shall
constitute a violation of
KRS
311.595(9) and (12), which
shall constitute an immediate danger to the public health, safety, or welfare,
for the purposes of
KRS
311.592 and
13B.125.
(c) If the board determines that a licensee
has failed to complete the required continuing education hours within the time
specified or has failed to provide the written verification of completion
within the time specified, the appropriate inquiry panel or its chair shall
promptly issue an emergency order restricting that licensee from prescribing or
dispensing controlled substances within the Commonwealth of Kentucky until the
licensee has completed the required continuing education hours for that period
and has provided written verification of completion to the board.
(d) An emergency order restricting a licensee
from prescribing or dispensing controlled substances within the Commonwealth of
Kentucky issued pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subsection shall remain valid
and in effect until the board has received written verification that the
licensee has successfully completed the required continuing education hours for
the time period specified. Upon receipt of the written verification, the panel
or its chair shall immediately issue an order terminating the emergency order
issued pursuant to this section.
(e) If a licensee who is affected by an
emergency order issued pursuant to this section requests an emergency hearing
pursuant to
KRS
13B.125(3), the hearing
officer conducting the emergency hearing shall affirm the emergency order if
presented with written notification on board letterhead stating that the board
has not received the required written verification that the licensee completed
the required continuing education hours for the continuing medical education
cycle by the deadline date for the cycle.
(7) If a licensee prescribes or dispenses a
controlled substance within the Commonwealth of Kentucky during any period
after the licensee has failed to complete the required continuing education
hours within the time specified or has failed to provide written verification
of completion within the time specified, each instance of prescribing or
dispensing of a controlled substance shall constitute a separate violation of
KRS
311.595(12) and (9), as
illustrated by
KRS
311.597(1)(b), and shall
serve as the basis for disciplinary sanctions pursuant to
KRS
311.595.
Section 6. Each licensee practicing in the
specialty of pediatrics, radiology, family medicine, or emergency medicine and
each licensee practicing in an urgent care practice environment shall complete
at least one (1) hour of continuing medical education regarding the recognition
and prevention of pediatric abusive head trauma in a course approved by the
board pursuant to
KRS
620.020, prior to December 31, 2017, or
within five (5) years of initial licensure.
Section 7. A licensee may obtain Category I
continuing medical education credit for documented service to the board as a
medical or osteopathic consultant. The service shall be credited at the rate of
one (1) hour of continuing medical education per two (2) hours of service as a
consultant, not to exceed twenty (20) hours continuing medical education credit
in a three (3) year continuing education cycle.
Section 8. The board may randomly require
physicians submitting certification of continuing medical education to
demonstrate satisfactory completion of the continuing medical education
requirements stated in the certification.
Section 9.
(1) A licensee shall be fined $200 or more,
if he or she fails to:
(a) Certify timely
completion of the continuing medical education requirements; or
(b) Obtain an extension of time for
completion of the continuing medical education requirements.
(2)
(a) A licensee who obtains an extension of
time shall be granted an extension of six (6) months to come into
compliance.
(b) If a licensee has
not completed the continuing medical education requirements within the six (6)
month extension established by this subsection, his or her license shall:
1. Be immediately suspended; and
2. Remain suspended until the licensee has
submitted verifiable evidence that he or she has completed the continuing
education requirements.
Section 10. A waiver of the requirements
established by the provisions of this administrative regulation shall not be
granted.
Section 11. Incorporation
by Reference.
(1) The following material is
incorporated by reference:
(a) "Continuing
Medical Education Certification Form", January 2013; and
(b) "Request for Extension to Complete
Required CME Hours", January 2013.
(2) This material may be inspected, copied,
or obtained, subject to applicable copyright law, at the Kentucky Board of
Medical Licensure, 310 Whittington Parkway, Suite 1B, Louisville, Kentucky
40222, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY:
KRS
311.565(1)(a), (b),
311.601(1),
(2)
