MD physicians board's duties should be more clearly delineated, review says

The Maryland Board of Physicians should have its duties and powers more explicitly outlined by the General Assembly, and be split into two panels that can independently perform investigatory and disciplinary operations, according to an official review released Wednesday. Dr. Jay Perman, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore, took on the task after the General Assembly declined to reauthorize the panel this year. Perman's review follows a separate legislative report eight months ago that found the board was inefficient and slow in its work issuing disciplinary actions in cases involving the 43,000 health professionals it is responsible for licensing in the state.