2023 Montana Code Annotated › Title 37. Professions and Occupations › Chapter 3. Medicine › Part 2. Board of Medical Examiners › 37-3-203. Powers and duties -- rulemaking authority

37-3-203. Powers and duties -- rulemaking authority.
(1) The board may:
(a) adopt rules necessary or proper to carry out the requirements in this chapter and of chapters covering podiatry, physician assistants, nutritionists, and emergency care providers as set forth in Title 37, chapters 6, 20, and 25, and 50-6-203, respectively. Rules adopted for emergency care providers with an endorsement to provide community-integrated health care must address the scope of practice, competency requirements, and educational requirements.
(b) hold hearings and take evidence in matters relating to the exercise and performance of the powers and duties vested in the board;
(c) aid the county attorneys of this state in the enforcement of parts 1 through 4 and 8 of this chapter as well as Title 37, chapters 6, 20, and 25, and Title 50, chapter 6, regarding emergency care providers licensed by the board. The board also may assist the county attorneys of this state in the prosecution of persons, firms, associations, or corporations charged with violations of the provisions listed in this subsection (1)(c).
(d) review certifications of disability and determinations of eligibility for a permit to hunt from a vehicle as provided in 87-2-803(11); and
(e) fund additional staff, hired by the department, to administer the provisions of this chapter, by increasing license fees as necessary.
(2) (a) The board shall establish a medical assistance program to assist and rehabilitate licensees who are subject to the jurisdiction of the board and who are found to be physically or mentally impaired by habitual intemperance or the excessive use of addictive drugs, alcohol, or any other drug or substance or by mental illness or chronic physical illness.
(b) The board shall ensure that a licensee who is required or volunteers to participate in the medical assistance program as a condition of continued licensure or reinstatement of licensure must be allowed to enroll in a qualified medical assistance program within this state and may not require a licensee to enroll in a qualified treatment program outside the state unless the board finds that there is no qualified treatment program in this state.
(3) (a) The board shall report annually on the number and types of complaints it has received involving physician practices in providing written certification, as defined in 16-12-502, for the use of marijuana for a debilitating medical condition provided for in Title 16, chapter 12, part 5. The report must contain:
(i) the number of complaints received by the board pursuant to 37-1-308;
(ii) the number of complaints for which a reasonable cause determination was made pursuant to 37-1-307;
(iii) the general nature of the complaints;
(iv) the number of investigations conducted into physician practices in providing written certification; and
(v) the number of physicians disciplined by the board for their practices in providing written certification for the use of marijuana for a debilitating medical condition.
(b) Except as provided in subsection (3)(c), the report may not contain individual identifying information regarding the physicians about whom the board received complaints.
(c) For each physician against whom the board takes disciplinary action related to the physician's practices in providing written certification for the use of marijuana for a debilitating medical condition, the report must include:
(i) the name of the physician;
(ii) the general results of the investigation of the physician's practices; and
(iii) the disciplinary action taken against the physician.
(d) The board shall provide the report to the economic affairs interim committee in accordance with 5-11-210 and shall make a copy of the report available on the board's website.
(4) The board may enter into agreements with other states for the purposes of mutual recognition of licensing standards and licensing of physicians and emergency care providers from other states under the terms of a mutual recognition agreement.
History: En. Sec. 8, Ch. 338, L. 1969; amd. Sec. 94, Ch. 350, L. 1974; R.C.M. 1947, 66-1017; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 83, L. 1981; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 283, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 135, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 436, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 419, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 224, L. 2003; amd. Sec. 18, Ch. 467, L. 2005; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 137, L. 2007; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 326, L. 2009; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 122, L. 2011; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 124, L. 2011; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 154, L. 2015; amd. Sec. 7, Ch. 220, L. 2019; amd. Sec. 68, Ch. 261, L. 2021; amd. Sec. 64, Ch. 576, L. 2021; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 275, L. 2023; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 705, L. 2023.