§ 1400. Renewal of license; continuing medical education

(a) Every person licensed to practice medicine by the Board shall apply biennially for the renewal of his or her license. At least one month prior to the date on which renewal is required, the Board shall send to each licensee a license renewal application form and notice of the date on which the existing license will expire. On or before the renewal date, the licensee shall file an application for license renewal and pay the required fee. The Board shall register the applicant and issue the renewal license. Within one month following the date renewal is required, the Board shall pay the license renewal fees into the Medical Practice Board Special Fund.

(b) A licensee for renewal of an active license to practice medicine shall have completed continuing medical education that shall meet minimum criteria as established by rule, by the Board, by August 31, 2012 and that shall be in effect for the renewal of licenses to practice medicine expiring after August 31, 2014. The Board shall require a minimum of 10 hours of continuing medical education by rule. The training provided by the continuing medical education shall be designed to assure that the licensee has updated his or her knowledge and skills in his or her own specialties and also has kept abreast of advances in other fields for which patient referrals may be appropriate. The Board shall require evidence of current professional competence in recognizing the need for timely appropriate consultations and referrals to assure fully informed patient choice of treatment options, including treatments such as those offered by hospice, palliative care, and pain management services.

[Subsection (c) effective 60 days after the adoption of the maintenance of licensure rule for physicians.]

(c) A licensee for renewal of an active license to practice medicine shall have practiced medicine within the last three years as defined in section 1311 of this title or have complied with the requirements for updating knowledge and skills as defined by Board rules.

(d) All licensees shall demonstrate that the requirements for licensure are met.

(e) A licensee shall promptly provide the Board with new or changed information pertinent to the information in his or her license and license renewal applications at the time he or she becomes aware of the new or changed information.

(f) A person who practices medicine and who fails to renew his or her license in accordance with the provisions of this section shall be deemed an illegal practitioner and shall forfeit the right to so practice or to hold himself or herself out as a person licensed to practice medicine in the State until reinstated by the Board, but nevertheless a physician while on extended active duty in the uniformed services of the United States or as a member of the National Guard, State Guard, or reserve component who is licensed as a physician at the time of an activation or deployment shall receive an extension of licensure up to 90 days following the physician's return from activation or deployment, provided the physician notifies the Board of his or her activation or deployment prior to the expiration of the current license and certifies that the circumstances of the activation or deployment impede good faith efforts to make timely application for renewal of the license.

(g) Any person who allows a license to lapse by failing to renew the same in accordance with the provisions of this section may be reinstated by the Board by payment of the renewal fee, the late renewal penalty, and if applicable, by completion of the required continuing medical education requirement as established in subsection (b) of this section and any other requirements for licensure as required by this section and Board rule. (Amended 1967, No. 307 (Adj. Sess.), § 5, eff. March 22, 1968; 1975, No. 118, § 80; 1975, No. 249 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 1977, No. 91, § 4, eff. May 5, 1977; 1989, No. 250 (Adj. Sess.), § 42; 1995, No. 178 (Adj. Sess.), § 81; 2001, No. 132 (Adj. Sess.), § 12, eff. June 13, 2002; 2011, No. 60, § 7, eff. June 1, 2011; 2011, No. 61, § 2, eff. June 2, 2011.)