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"The changes we've made are helping to
protect Illinois citizens from the risk of poor or dangerous medical
treatment," said Fernando Grillo, secretary of the Illinois
Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. "Our
improvements are making health care in Illinois better and safer."
The department has streamlined the
way it handles medical discipline. In cases where a mandatory report
is received, investigators immediately request or subpoena medical
records, rather than wait until the initial review is completed,
thus allowing the case to move forward more quickly if an
investigation is warranted. The department now has a full-time
medical practice coordinator available to provide guidance and
handle preliminary reviews of cases. The department is also more
aggressively disciplining physicians who have substance-abuse
issues.
Using data collected by the
Federation of State Medical Boards, the Public Citizen Health
Research Group found that Illinois has increased its effectiveness
in disciplining physicians for each of the past three years. The
state is now ranked 25th in the nation for the rate of serious
disciplinary actions taken against licensed doctors. Illinois'
ranking was 41 for 2002 and 36 in 2003. Meanwhile, the number of
complaints has stayed relatively constant, with complaints against
about 5 percent of the doctors practicing in the state.
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 In 2004, the Illinois Department of
Financial and Professional Regulation sanctioned 240 physicians for
actions ranging from mishandling of payments to gross negligence. Of
those cases, 177 resulted in either the loss of license privileges
or restriction of those privileges.
To review the reports cited above,
click on Federation of State Medical
Boards or
Public
Citizen's Analysis.
[Illinois
Department of Financial and Professional Regulation news release]
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