Maryland board proposes continuous monitoring of doctors' criminal activity

Maryland doctors would be fingerprinted and continually monitored for criminal charges under draft legislation the state Board of Physicians plans to propose next year. The policy would require them to apply for a background check when first seeking a medical license, or for currently practicing doctors, when they next renew their licenses. Background checks would occur once for each doctor. The board plans to use an FBI program that allows indefinite monitoring that would alert regulators to any new criminal activity. But the proposed legislation does not prescribe circumstances under which the board would deny or revoke a license, instead giving officials flexibility to consider the severity of the crime, the applicant's age when it was committed, how much time has passed, and what he or she has been doing since.