1. (a) The board may develop, implement, and maintain a permit that allows an individual who meets certain criteria and qualifications, as further provided in subsection (c), to practice medicine as a bridge year graduate physician. A permitted bridge year graduate physician shall practice only under the supervision of a licensed physician approved by the board.

2. (b)

   1. (1) The board shall convene a standing working group to consult and assist in the drafting of rules related to the practice of bridge year graduate physicians, consisting of the following:

      1. a. Two members appointed by the Medical Association of the State of Alabama.
      2. b. One member appointed by the Alabama Academy of Family Physicians.
      3. c. One member appointed by the Alabama Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
      4. d. One member appointed by the Alabama Chapter of the American College of Physicians.
      5. e. One member appointed by the Alabama Primary Health Care Association.
      6. f. One member appointed by the board.
      7. g. The director of a residency program appointed by the Dean of The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine.
      8. h. The director of a residency program appointed by the Dean of the University of South Alabama College of Medicine.
      9. i. The Director of the Cahaba Medicine Family Residency Program.
   2. (2) Members of the standing working group shall receive, out of the funds of the board, reimbursement for subsistence and travel in accordance with state law for each day actively engaged in official business of the standing working group.
   3. (3) The standing working group may conduct its business in person or by electronic means.

3. (c) The board shall provide by rule for the criteria for participation in the bridge year graduate physician program which, at a minimum, shall require the individual seeking a permit to meet the following qualifications:

   1. (1) Is a graduate of a medical educational institution as set forth in Section 34-24-70(a)(1).
   2. (2) Has applied, but was not accepted into, a postgraduate or residency training program, as set forth in Section 34-24-70(a)(2), for the first year following medical school graduation. The board may establish a process for otherwise qualified applicants to petition the board to waive this requirement.
   3. (3) Has submitted to the board an application on a form approved by the board.
   4. (4) Has paid to the board in advance the required application fee in an amount established by board rule. This fee is nonrefundable once payment is received by the board.
4. (d) In addition to the qualifications described in subsection (c), and for the purposes of determining an applicant’s suitability to obtain a permit to practice as a bridge year graduate physician in this state, each applicant shall submit to a criminal history background check. Each applicant shall submit a complete set of fingerprints, either inked cards or electronically, properly executed by a law enforcement agency or an individual properly trained in fingerprinting techniques to the board. The board shall submit the fingerprints provided to the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI). The fingerprints shall be forwarded by the SBI to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history record check. The applicant shall pay directly to the board, or its designee, all costs associated with the background check required by this section. The board shall keep information received pursuant to this subsection confidential, except that such information received and relied upon in denying the issuance of a permit to practice as a bridge year graduate physician in this state may be disclosed as may be necessary to support the denial.
5. (e) Upon the filing of an application in the proper form, if the board is satisfied that all requirements of the law have been met and that the application should be approved in the interest of public welfare, the board shall issue to the applicant a permit to practice as a bridge year graduate physician. The permit shall be of a size and design to be determined by the board. Every permit issued by the board shall be dated, shall be numbered in the order of issuance, and shall be signed by the chair of the board or the chair’s designee.
6. (f) A permit issued pursuant to this section shall be valid for one year and may be renewed, upon application and payment of a renewal fee, as determined by the board, by rule, for no more than one additional one-year period.
7. (g) The board may adopt rules further setting forth the qualifications of a physician eligible to supervise a bridge year graduate physician and for the level of supervisory oversight required, which, at a minimum, shall include on-site physician supervision.

8. (h)

   1. (1) An individual holding a permit to practice as a bridge year graduate physician may prescribe, dispense, or administer legend drugs to patients, subject to both of the following conditions:

      1. a. The drug shall be on the formulary approved under the guidelines of the board.
      2. b. The drug is administered or issued pursuant to a job description approved by the board and signed by the bridge year graduate physician’s supervising physician.
   2. (2) Permitted bridge year graduate physicians may administer any legend drug that they are authorized to prescribe under this subsection. A bridge year graduate physician may not initiate a call-in prescription in the name of his or her supervising physician for any drug, whether legend drug or controlled substance, which the bridge year graduate physician is not authorized to prescribe under the job description signed by his or her supervising physician and approved under this subsection, unless the drug is specifically ordered for the patient by the supervising physician, either in writing or by a verbal order which has been reduced to writing and which has been signed by the supervising physician within a time specified in the guidelines of the board.
9. (i) The board may deny, suspend, terminate, or revoke a bridge year graduate physician permit for any reason provided by law or board rule for the termination of licenses, permits, registrations, or certificates issued by the board or the Medical Licensure Commission, including, but not limited to, a violation of this section or the rules adopted by the board pursuant to this section.
10. (j) At the end of the bridge year, the physician supervising a bridge year graduate physician, in a manner prescribed by the board, shall submit a report to the board indicating the scope and breadth of the practice of the participating bridge year graduate physician and the instruction and training given to the bridge year graduate physician. The supervising physician’s report shall contain a statement as to whether or not the bridge year graduate physician would be recommended for a residency position upon reapplication.
11. (k) A permit issued in accordance with this section shall not confer any future right to licensure to practice medicine in this state.
12. (l) The board may adopt rules regulating the permitting and practice of bridge year graduate physicians in this state, even if the rules displace competition.

(Act 2023-233, §3)