State Medical Boards

Every state in the U.S. has a medical board that oversees licensing of physicians and handles consumer (patient) complaints. As a rule of thumb, I never see a physician until I've checked out their license. (It doesn't hurt to check out which medical school they went to either. . .)

It seems silly--they wouldn't be in an office taking patients if they weren't licensed, right? Wrong. Twice in the last year alone I came across doctors identified in my husband's HMO doctor directory who were, in fact, no longer licensed to practice medicine in the state of California. Both still had offices and a nurse practitioner was seeing patients while new physicians were being sought to fill the previous physicians' slots. Not cool. Maybe not even legal. I don't know. One of the doctors was someone my daughter was seeing and suddenly

Survey of Doctor Disciplinary Information on State Medical Board Web Sites

The Health Research Group (HRG), an arm of the Public Citizen group formed by Ralph Nader, conducted a survey of the 51 medical boards regulating physicians in the United States to determine the current state of Internet-accessible disciplinary information. They conducted phone interviews (using a structured questionnaire) and examined each of the websites. Based on what they found, they assigned a grade of "A," "B, "C," "D," "F," or "X." Only 1 state received an "A" -- Maryland. Read how YOUR state was rated and check out the commentary provided on how each state could improve their information dissemination efforts.

she couldn't get past the nurse practitioner to see the doctor to save her soul. I got suspicious and checked the medical licensing for the physician and was surprised to find that the doctor had chosen not to renew her license. You'd think the medical staff would tell you that when you book an appointment, wouldn't you? But, they didn't.

You never know. It can be very important to check.

Take, for instance, my personal experience with Dr. Vicki Hufnagel as I was researching female reconstructive surgery (FRS) years ago. . .

Okay. So you find the doctor you're seeing is licensed but is still a "day late and a dollar short" on their bedside manner, quality of care, and, just maybe, incredibly inept in their overall medical skills. If you believe that what your doctor has done to you is wrong, please, oh please file a complaint! The only way for us to advance the "weeding out" of those who don't deserve a medical license is for each one of us to be proactive in our selection of physicians. And, when necessary, we simply must complain to the proper authorities--instead of just walking away and whining about it.

State	Address	Phone
Alabama	Alabama State Board of Medical Examiners 848 Washington Avenue Montgomery, AL 36104	334.242.4116 334.242.4155 (fax)
Alaska	Alaska State Medical Board 333 Willoughby Ave., 9th Floor Juneau, AK 99801 P.O. Box 110806 Juneau, AK 99811	907.269.8163 907.465.2541 907.465.2974 (fax)
Arizona	Arizona Board of Medical Examiners 9545 E. Doubletree Ranch Road Scottsdale, AZ 85258	480.551.2700 877.255.2212 (toll free within AZ)
Arkansas	Arkansas State Medical Board 2100 Riverfront Drive, Suite 200 Little Rock, AR 72202	501.296.1802 501.296.1805 (fax
California	Medical Board of California 1426 Howe Ave., Suite 54 Sacramento, CA 95825	916.263.2382 916.263.2487 (fax)
Colorado	Colorado State Board of Medical Examiners 1560 Broadway, Suite 1300 Denver, CO 80202-5140	303.894.7690 303.894.7692 (fax)
Connecticut	Connecticut Department of Public Health/Physician Licensure Department Physician Licensure 410 Capitol Ave. Initial MS#12APP Hartford, CT 06134-0308	860.509.7603 860.509.8457 (fax)
Delaware (charges $10 and requires written request)	Delaware Board of Medical Practice Cannon Bldg., Suite 203 P.O. Box 1401 Dover, DE 19904	302.739.4522 302.739.2711 (fax)
District of Columbia	District of Columbia Board of Medicine 825 N. Capital St. NE Washington, DC 20002	202.442.9200 202.442.9431 (fax)
Florida	Florida Department of Health 4042 Bald Cypress Way Tallahassee, FL 32337	850.488.0595 850.922.3040 (fax)
Georgia	Georgia Composite State Board of Medical Examiners 166 Pryor St., SW Atlanta, GA 30303-3465	404.656.3913 404.656.9723 (fax)
Hawaii	Hawaii Board of Medical Examiners 1010 Richard St. Honolulu, HI 96801 P.O. Box 96813 Honolulu, HI 96813	808.586.3000
Idaho	Idaho State Board of Medicine 280 N. 8th St., Suite 202 State House Mall Boise, ID 83720-0058	208.334.2822 208.334.2801 (fax)
Illinois	Illinois Department of Professional Regulation 320 W. Washington St., 3rd Floor Springfield, IL 62786	217.785.0800 217.782.7645 (fax)
Indiana	Indiana Health Professions Bureau 402 W. Washington St., Room 41 Indianapolis. IN 46204	317.232.2960 317.233.4236 (fax)
Iowa	Iowa Board of Medical Examiners 400 SW 8th Street, Suite C Des Moines, IA 50309	515.281.5171 515.242.5908 (fax)
Kansas	Kansas State Board of Healing Arts 235 S. Topeka Blvd. Topeka, KS 66603-3068	785.296.7413 785.296.0852 (fax)
Kentucky	Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure Hurstbourne Office Park 310 Whittington Pkwy., Suite 1-B Louisville, KY 40222	502.429.8046 502.429.9923 (fax)
Louisiana	Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners 630 Camp St. New Orleans, LA 70130 P.O. Box 30250 New Orleans, LA 70190-0250	504.568.6820 504. 599-0503 (fax)
Maine	Maine Board of Licensure in Medicine 137 State House Station Augusta, ME 04333	207.287.3601
Maryland	Maryland Board of Physician Quality Assurance 4210 Patterson Ave. P.O. Box 2571 Baltimore, MD 21215-0002	410.764.4777 800.492.6836 410.352.2252 (fax)
Massachusetts	Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine 10 West St. Boston, MA 02111	617.727.3086 617.451.9568
Michigan	Michigan Board of Medicine 611 W. Ottawa, First Floor Lansing, MI 48933 P.O. Box 30670 Lansing, MI 48909	517.335.0918 517.373.2179 (fax)
Minnesota	Minnesota Board of Medical Practice 2829 University Ave., S.E., Suite 400 Minneapolis, MN 55414-3246	612.617.2130 612.617.2166 (fax)
Mississippi	Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure 1867 Crane Ridge Drive , Suite 200-B Jackson, MS 39216	601.987.3079 601.987.4159 (fax)
Missouri	Missouri State Board of Registration for the Healing Arts 3605 Missouri Blvd. Jefferson City, MO 65109 P.O. Box 4 Jefferson City, MO 65102	573.751.0098 573.571.3166 (fax)
Montana	Montana Board of Medical Examiners 301 South Park, 4th Floor P.O. Box 200513 Helena, MT 59620-0513	406.444.4284 406.444.1667 (fax)
Nebraska	Nebraska Department of Health 301 Centennial Mall South P.O. Box 95007 Lincoln, NE 68509-4986	402.471.2115 402.471.3577 (fax)
Nevada	Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners 1105 Terminal Way, Suite 301 Reno, NV 89502 P.O. Box 7238 Reno, NV 89510	702.688.2559 702.688.2321 (fax)
New Hampshire	New Hampshire Board of Medicine 2 Industrial Park Drive, Suite 8 Concord, NH 03301-8520	603.271.1203 603.271.6702 (fax)
New Jersey	New Jersey State Board of Medical Examiners 140 E. Front St., 2nd Floor Trenton, NJ 08608	609.826.7100 609.984.3930 (fax)
New Mexico	New Mexico State Board of Medical Examiners 2nd Floor, Lamy Bldg. 491 Old Santa Fe Trail Santa Fe, NM 87501	505.827.5022 505.827.7377 (fax)
New York	New York State Board for Medicine Cultural Education Center, #3023 Albany, NY 12230	518.474.3841 518.486.4846 (fax)
North Carolina	North Carolina Board of Medical Examiners 1201 Front St., Suite 100 P. O. Box 20007 Raleigh, NC 27609	919.326.1100 800.253.9653 (toll free within NC) 919.326.1131 (fax)
North Dakota	North Dakota State Board of Medical Examiners City Center Plaza 418 E. Broadway Ave., Suite 12 Bismark, ND 58501	701.328.6500 701.328.6505 (fax)
Ohio	State Medical Board of Ohio 77 S. High St., 17th Floor Columbus, OH 43266-0315	614.466.3934 614.728.5946 (fax)
Oklahoma	Oklahoma State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision 5104 N. Francis, Suite C Oklahoma City, OK 73118-6020	405.848.6841 800.381.4519 (toll free) 405.848.8240 (fax)
Oregon	Oregon Board of Medical Examiners 1500 S. W. First Ave., Suite 620 Portland, OR 97201	503.229.5770 877.254.6263 (toll free within OR) 503.229.6543 (fax)
Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania State Board of Medicine 124 Pine St. Harrisburg, PA 17101	717.787.8503 717.787.7769 (fax)
Rhode Island	Rhode Island Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline Cannon Bldg., Room 205 3 Capitol Hill Providence. RI 02908-5097	401.222.3855 401.222.2158 (fax)
South Carolina	South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners 110 Centerview Drive, Suite 202 P.O. Box 11289 Columbia, SC 29211-1289	803.896.4500 803.896.4515 (fax)
South Dakota	South Dakota State Board of Medical and Osteopathic Examiners 1323 S. Minnesota Ave. Sioux Falls, SD 57105	605.334.8343 605.336.0270 (fax)
Tennessee	Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners 1st Floor Cordell Hull Bldg. 425 5th Ave. North Nashville, TN 37247-1010	615.741.3111 615.741.2491 (fax)
Texas	Texas State Board of Medical Examiners 333 Guadeloupe, Tower 3, Suite 610 P.O. Box 2018 Austin, TX 78701	800.248.4062 512.463.9416 (fax)
Utah	Utah Department of Commerce/Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing Heber Wells Bldg., 4th Floor 160 E. 300 South P.O. Box 146741 Salt Lake City, UT 84114-6741	801.530.6628 801.530.6511 (fax)
Vermont	Vermont Board of Medical Practice 109 State St. Monpelier, VT 05609-1106	802.828.2673 802.828.5450 (fax)
Virginia	Virginia Board of Medicine 6606 W. Broad St., 4th Floor Richmond, VA 23230-1717	804.662.7636 804.662.9943(fax)
Washington	Washington Medical Quality Assurance Commission Medical Quality Assurance Commission P. O. Box 47866 1300 Quince Street SE Olympia, WA 98504-7866	360.236.4800 360.586.4573(fax)
West Virginia	West Virginia Board of Medicine 101 Dee Drive Charleston, WV 25311	304.558.2921 304.558.2084 (fax)
Wisconsin	Wisconsin Medical Examining Board Dept. of Regulation and Licensing 1400 E. Washington Ave., Room 178 P.O. Box 8935 Madison, WI 53708-8935	608.266.1188 608.261.7083 (fax)
Wyoming	Wyoming Board of Medicine 211 W. 19th St. Cheyenne, WY 82002	307.778.7053 800.438.5784 (toll free) 307.778.2069 (fax)