The Arizona Medical Board says it has beefed up its investigative staff and shortened the average time to complete investigations into complaints about physicians.

Word of an investigation backlog came to legislators earlier this year about the time Timothy Miller replaced Barry Cassidy as executive director of the board.

Since Feb. 9, the board has trimmed the number of open complaints to 1,140 from 1,301, a reduction of 161 complaints, the board said in an e-mail response to Arizona Capitol Times.

At the same time, staff has decreased the number of investigations exceeding 180 days — the agency’s requirement for complaint resolution — to 439 complaints from 536, a reduction of 97 cases.

Investigation Completion Time Shortened

The average time to complete an investigation is now 34 days shorter, down to 188 days, the board said.

“In the past several weeks, staff has begun to implement a new investigation process,” the board’s statement says. “We have hired two new investigators and two temporary investigators and are transferring two staff into the office of investigations.

“All of the investigators are completing the first round of training. We expect them to impact the number of open complaints and the average time of investigation even more. “Even though it is important to resolve complaints in a timely manner, the Arizona Medical Board remains committed to maintaining complete and thorough investigations to ensure fairness for all parties.”

The board licenses and regulates approximately 10,000 medical doctors and several hundred physician assistants.

Mr. Cassidy now heads Mesa-based Professional Assessment Services and Solutions (PASS), which assists physicians and other health care professionals “who have

demonstrated disruptive behavior and are in jeopardy of losing their medical license, individual reputations, insurance coverage and, ultimately, their careers.”

Mr. Cassidy says in a news release, “During my tenure at the Arizona Medical Board, approximately 80 per cent of patient complaints involved disrespectful and rude behavior.”

PASS spokesman Amy Esplin said doctors can be “very, very full of themselves and treat patients with disrespect.”

Unlike the medical board, PASS does not handle physicians with alcohol or drug problems.

“When it reviews cases, the board’s focus is on a doctor’s mental and physical ability to safely engage in the practice of medicine, possible unprofessional conduct, and medical incompetence,” the medical board stated. “Sometimes these three areas intertwine. Any complaint of rude or disrespectful behavior that does not involve one of those three areas is not even opened for investigation.”

The board statement added that 80 per cent of filed complaints are dismissed, but most involve “quality of care issues, not physical behavior.” —