Representative Sue Gerard, chair of the House Health Committee, says she is open to the idea, however. Gerard also wants to look at adding a health-care professional who is not a doctor. These have to be people knowledgeable enough to make decisions about these kinds of issues. In 92 percent of the cases decided last year, the board took no disciplinary action. That's because the board is often more worried about a doctor's finances than the patient's complaint, the audit says.
Investigations are frequently sloppy as well.
Witnesses were interviewed in only five cases. Board members did not follow legally required guidelines for dealing with doctors. Also, the agency's high staff turnover during the past nine months appears to have nudged the backlog up again, the audit says. Assistant AGs Nancy Beck and Victoria Mangiapane resigned from their positions as legal advisers to the agency shortly after Foutz arrived. Beck had applied for Foutz's job after former executive director Mark Speicher was dismissed, but was passed over.