Scottsdale,
Ariz. - The Arizona Medical Board voted unanimously at its meeting August 11, 2005 to accept a proposed draft of rules to regulate physicians performing office-based surgical procedures. The rules are meant to establish standards for physician practices and to set staff and equipment requirements for patient safety.
The agency will now solicit comment from the public and from stakeholders. A notice of the rule-making is sent to the Arizona Secretary of State‘s Office.
William R. Martin III, M.D., chair of the Board‘s OBS committee, informed the Board that the Arizona Department of Health Services is beginning to write rules for Ambulatory Surgical Centers and that the two agencies‘ rules must work in tandem. While the medical board regulates physicians, the Department of Health Services regulates facilities. The other committee members are Douglas D. Lee, M.D., and Ram R. Krishna, M.D. Timothy C. Miller, Executive Director of the Arizona Medical Board, said he has begun working with DHS to harmonize the rules.
Dr. Martin said the OBS rules should be ready by December 1, 2005 and will be brought back to the Arizona Medical Board for final approval at the first available meeting after that date.
The draft of the Office-Based Surgery Rules will be available on this web site. Go to the menu, first select “Statutes and Rules,” then “Public Notice of Activity.” The file is under “Informal Rulemaking Actions.”
Public comments on the rules can be emailed to the address, [email protected] .
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