BISMARCK (AP) — The state Board of Medicine brought five formal disciplinary actions against North Dakota licensed doctors in 2022, including three sanctions that resulted in physicians losing their credentials to practice indefinitely in the state.
The number of disciplinary actions in 2022 was six fewer than each of the previous two years, said Sandra DePountis, the board's executive director.
The North Dakota Board of Medicine was established in 1890 to license physicians and discipline them if they violate rules or law. The 13-member, governor-appointed panel is made up of 10 doctors, a physician assistant and two lay members.
DePountis said the panel does not meet in December and no other sanctions are currently pending.
The board reviewed 174 complaints this year, down from 202 last year.
Alcohol-related incidents typically make up the bulk of the board's sanctions, DePountis said. Doctors are given a chance to enter a program that requires them to submit to random drug and alcohol screening before more serious sanctions are sought, she said.
Doctors in the state also were disciplined for such things as substandard care, and criminal offenses, DePountis said.
North Dakota has 2,043 licensed doctors who live in the state, and 3,657 who are licensed but live out of state.
DePountis did not know if the doctors who lost their licenses in North Dakota had ever actually practiced in the state.
