Arizona Medical Board Broke The Law, Under Investigation

October 10, 2013

An investigation by an independent legislative agency found that the board that licenses doctors in Arizona broke state law by not following proper licensing procedures and violated other regulations. The board has reprimanded its executive director and is making changes to the way it reviews license applications,

 The Arizona Ombudsman’s Office launched the investigation after a complaint from a staffer on the Arizona Medical Board. The probe covered a period from September 2011 through February of this year.

In its report, the Ombudsman’s office listed 20 allegations of misconduct involving the licensing of doctors, board members who had served longer than state law allows and senior administrators who authorized procedures that violated state law. In many cases, the report said medical board administrators were too concerned with getting license applications approved quickly instead of making sure laws were being followed.

The medical board members responded to the investigation by saying there was a severe breakdown in communication between the executive director, Lisa Wynn, administration and board members. The board said it has issued a letter of reprimand to the director and will follow up on other recommendations. The report also said that suspected legal violations be referred to the attorney general.