Barrett Rainey's Second Thoughts

How would you like having your emergency surgery done by a physician whose license was suspended in a neighboring state but was given certification to practice by your state?

How about a dentist – disciplined in another state for pulling the wrong teeth in a child – taking care of your children because he was given accreditation in your home state.

How about a funeral director, handling the body of your loved one, who had not passed national exams while practicing in another state but was given a license in your state?

All of this is happening in the state where I live – Arizona.

Now, don’t stop reading just because I’m not talking about where you live. The same dangerous scenarios could well be found in Idaho or Oregon or Washington. Because it’s happening here, it could be happening anywhere!

These situations – and more – might not have been uncovered were it not for a team of journalists working for The Arizona Republic and some “J” students at the University of Texas. They did a four-month review of professional documents from a variety of fields requiring licensure. They interviewed a lot of professional and political people. The result of their work is pretty damned scary.

Arizona laws deal with something called “universal licensing.” And, according to the research, “the Governor’s office takes a heavy hand
ensuring (Arizona) licensing boards approve universal licenses.”

Under that law, and according to current licensing practices here, people not meeting professional requirements in other states can almost certainly be licensed in Arizona. The researchers found “only a tiny fraction” of universal applicants are denied.

In addition, while Arizona might require more education, training or testing for our own homegrown applicants, those from other states aren’t required to meet the higher standards. The report cited one case in which the Arizona board was “ordered to grant a license to a counselor who graduated from a school that didn’t have the required accreditation at the time.”

Then there’s the hair-raising-on-your-neck finding. “The Governor’s office requires licensing boards to track all applications received under universal licensure.” BUT – “Boards are not required to report health and safety metrics to the public – such as how many professionals have faced disciplinary findings in their homes states.”

So, suppose you have to have gall bladder surgery. You have no way of knowing that, despite the college degrees hanging on the surgeon’s wall, he/she was disciplined for some bad outcomes in previous practice in some other state. Or, that your surgeon failed some professional requirements elsewhere. Because, the licensing board for surgeons here is NOT required to report such vital information to the public.

Reporters for “The Republic” found examples of people given Arizona licenses who were disciplined in other states, including a chiropractor convicted of felony fraud and other licensees named in malpractice claims. But, because their disciplinary requirements had been completed, their licenses were considered to be in good standing (and) they were given Arizona licenses.”

It’s not just medical professionals we’re talking about here. Real estate, cosmetology, barbers, educators, plumbers, dentists and others in fields requiring state licenses. All must meet some sort of requirements to receive licenses to work.

In the last couple of years, Barb (wife of the house) has had three major surgeries involving her spine, knee and shoulder. The outcomes have been good. So far. But, we had no way of knowing the medical histories of the three physicians before committing to the surgeries. Arizona doesn’t require those histories be made known.

Who thinks of researching the histories of all the professionals you deal with nearly every day? How do you find out qualifications and past performance problems from an agency not required to make such information public?

A very large “tip-of-the-hat” to the “The Republic” and those college kids in Texas. They’ve shined a light on a very disturbing situation.

Given the “tinfoil hat” nature of the legislature hereabouts, it’s not likely there’ll be any fixing of this “disturbing situation.” But, before any cutting and/or replacing is done on the bodies in this household in the future, we’ll be doing a little research.

Might be good advice for you, too. Never know what you’ll find.

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