1. (1) The Contract between the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners and the Medical Association of the State of Alabama, Physicians Health Program (PHP) permits the Board to refer physicians with a history of treatment for chemical dependency and substance abuse to the Alabama PHP for evaluation and a recommendation back to the Board of Medical Examiners. It is the Board's policy that staff for the Board of Medical Examiners will refer to the Medical Director of the PHP the names of any applicants for a certificate of qualification who has disclosed in his or her application a history of addiction to alcohol or drugs and/or treatment, monitoring or aftercare for chemical dependency and substance abuse or psychiatric illness preceding the date of application. Referral will be accomplished under the following steps:

   1. (a) A notice to applicants will be included in the package of application forms sent to a prospective applicant informing them of the Board's policy on referral to the PHP for evaluation. The notice will be in the following form: NOTICE: ALL PROSPECTIVE APPLICANTS ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT IT IS THE POLICY OF THE ALABAMA BOARD OF MEDICAL EXAMINERS TO REFER ANY APPLICANT WHO HAS BEEN ADDICTED TO THE USE OF ALCOHOL OR CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES AND/OR WHO HAS RECEIVED ANY TREATMENT, MONITORING OR AFTERCARE FOR CHEMICAL DEPENDENCY OR SUBSTANCE ABUSE OR PSYCHIATRIC ILLNESS WITHIN TWO (2) YEARS PRECEDING THE DATE OF THE APPLICATION TO THE PHYSICIANS HEALTH PROGRAM FOR EVALUATION BY THE PHP AND A RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF MEDICAL EXAMINERS ON THE LICENSE APPLICATION. AS A PART OF THE APPLICATION PROCESS, APPLICANTS WILL BE EXPECTED TO COOPERATE FULLY WITH REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION AND/OR EVALUATIONS WHICH MAY BE RECOMMENDED BY THE MEDICAL DIRECTOR OF THE PHYSICIANS HEALTH PROGRAM IN CONSULTATION WITH THE BOARD'S PHYSICIAN MONITORING COORDINATOR. AN APPLICATION SHALL NOT BE DEEMED TO BE COMPLETE AND SHALL NOT BE PLACED ON THE AGENDA OF THE BOARD OF MEDICAL EXAMINERS UNTIL THE BOARD HAS RECEIVED A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE PHYSICIANS HEALTH PROGRAM. THIS POLICY APPLIES TO APPLICANTS FOR A CERTIFICATE OF QUALIFICATION BY ENDORSEMENT OR BY EXAMINATION OR WITHOUT EXAMINATION (LIMITED LICENSE).
   2. (b) Upon receipt of an application for a certificate of qualification by examination or by endorsement or without examination (limited license) the staff of the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners will immediately provide a copy of the application and any accompanying materials submitted by the applicant to the Medical Director of the Physicians Health Program. Referral to the PHP will not be delayed pending receipt of other elements of the application such as verifications of medical school and residency qualifications, license verifications in other states and tests results.
   3. (c) Upon receipt of a referral for evaluation and recommendation from the Board of Medical Examiners, the Medical Director of the PHP will cause an evaluation and examination to be made of the information available and will determine what, if any, further information and/or evaluations are required in order for the PHP to make a recommendation to the Board of Medical Examiners on the application for a certificate of qualification. The Medical Director is authorized to communicate directly with the applicant to secure any additional information which may be required by the PHP in order to complete the evaluation. In the event that the Medical Director is unable to obtain the necessary information or in the event that the applicant is uncooperative with the PHP by failing or refusing to comply with the requests for information and/or evaluation, then in such event the Medical Director will notify the staff of the Board of Medical Examiners who will in turn notify the applicant in writing that his or her application will not be further considered by the Board unless and until a recommendation is received from the PHP.
   4. (d) Upon completion of an evaluation, the Medical Director of the PHP will provide the staff of the Board of Medical Examiners a written recommendation stating whether in the opinion of the Medical Director the applicant can practice medicine with reasonable safety to patients and will specify any restrictions which he recommends should be placed on the applicants certificate of qualification.
   5. (e) The Board of Medical Examiners' staff will provide a copy of the recommendation of the Medical Director to the applicant. If the Medical Director has recommended any restrictions on the certificate of qualification, the Board of Medical Examiners' Legal Department will prepare the necessary voluntary restriction and/or agreement as appropriate.
   6. (f) When the other elements of the application have been received and the application is considered complete, the Board of Medical Examiners' staff will have the option to schedule the applicant for an interview with the Credentials Committee in accordance with the Committee's directive. The application will then be processed in the regular course of business.
   7. (g) In any circumstances not specifically outlined by this Policy, the Executive Director and the Board of Medical Examiners' staff shall seek and obtain guidance from the Chairman of the Credentials Committee.

Author: Wendell R. Morgan, Patricia E. Shaner, Attorneys for the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners

Statutory Authority: Code of Ala. 1975, §34-24-53; Act No. 93-148.

Editor’s Note: Rule 09 was renumbered to .10 as per certification filed October 15, 2008; effective November 19, 2008.

History: Filed May 20, 1993 for publication. See also Notice of Intended Action dated May 20, 1993 repealing existing Chapter 3. Amended: July 21, 1993; effective August 25, 1993. Amended: Filed July 26, 1999; effective August 30, 1999. Amended: Filed September 20, 2001; effective October 25, 2001. Amended (Rule Number Only): Filed October 15, 2008; effective November 19, 2008.