4614 CONTINUING EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS FOR PRACTICING PHYSICIANS

4614.1 Subject to § 4614.2, this section shall apply to actively practicing applicants for the renewal or reinstatement of a license for a term expiring December 31, 2006, and for subsequent terms.

4614.2 Physicians actively practicing medicine in the District of Columbia shall submit proof of having completed fifty (50) American Medical Association Physician Recognition Award (AMA/PRA) Category I hours or Board of Medicine approved continuing education credit during the two-year period preceding the date the license expires. At least ten percent (10%) of the total fifty (50) hours of required continuing medical education shall include subjects determined by the Director as public health priorities of the District of Columbia, which shall be published every five (5) years or as deemed appropriate. The continuing education requirement:

(a) Shall include, beginning with the renewal period ending December 31, 2018, two (2) AMA/PRA Category I or Category I-equivalent hours in cultural competence or appropriate clinical treatment specifically for individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender nonconforming, queer, or questioning their sexual orientation or gender identity and expression (LGBTQ) which meet the requirements of § 4614.9. Category I-equivalent hours shall be acceptable so long as they have been prescribed by the American Academy of Family Physicians or another entity approved by the Board; and

(b) Pursuant to D.C. Official Code §§ 3-1205.10(b-1)(3), the requirements of D.C. Official Code § 3-1205.10(b)(4) are waived.

4614.3 For purposes of this section, a physician is actively practicing medicine if each calendar year the physician meets the following requirements:

(a) Maintains a practice of one thousand (1,000) patient-visits per year;

(b) Is employed full-time in medical teaching, research, or administration; or

(c) Is employed part-time in medical teaching, research, or administration and maintains a practice of five-hundred (500) patient-visits per year.

4614.4 An applicant under this section shall prove completion of required continuing education credits by submitting with the application the following information:

(a) The name of the program, its location, and a description of the subject

matter covered;

(b) The dates on which the applicant attended the program;

(c) The hours of credit claimed; and

(d) Verification of completion of the credits by signature or stamp of the sponsor.

4614.5 This section shall not apply to applicants for an initial license by national examination, reciprocity, or endorsement, nor shall it apply to applicants for the first renewal of a license granted by examination. Neither shall the requirement for continuing education apply to physicians specifically exempted due to:

(a) Hardship;

(b) Disability;

(c) Serious illness;

(d) Service in the United States Congress;

(e) Military service or other circumstances as the Board deems appropriate if supported by adequate documentation acceptable to the Board; and

(f) Postgraduate training pursuant to § 4611.

4614.6 Physicians seeking such an exemption shall submit a written request with appropriate documentation including a description of circumstances sufficient to justify such an exemption.

4614.7 A request for an exemption shall be submitted to the Board in a sufficient time period prior to the expiration of the license to receive a determination from the Board as to whether an exemption shall be granted.

4614.8 A physician suspended for disciplinary reasons shall not be exempt from the requirements of this section.

4614.9 Continuing medical education hours that are completed, pursuant to § 4614.2, in cultural competence and appropriate clinical treatment specifically for individuals who are LGBTQ shall, at a minimum, provide information and skills to enable a physician to care effectively and respectfully for patients who identify as LGBTQ, which may include:

(a) Specialized clinical training relevant to patients who identify as LGBTQ, including training on how to use cultural information and terminology to establish clinical relationships;

(b) Training that improves the understanding and application, in a clinical setting, of relevant data concerning health disparities and risk factors for patients who identify as LGBTQ;

(c) Training that outlines the legal obligations associated with treating patients who identify as LGBTQ;

(d) Best practices for collecting, storing, using, and keeping confidential, information regarding sexual orientation and gender identity;

(e) Best practices for training support staff regarding the treatment of patients who identify as LGBTQ and their families;

(f) Training that improves the understanding of the intersections between systems of oppression and discrimination and improves the recognition that those who identify as LGBTQ may experience these systems in varying degrees of intensity; and

(g) Training that addresses underlying cultural biases aimed at improving the provision of nondiscriminatory care for patients who identify as LGBTQ.

SOURCE: Final Rulemaking published at 53 DCR 4796 (June 16, 2006); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 64 DCR 11054 (October 27, 2017); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 67 DCR 2792 (March 13, 2020).