Conroy: Bill to simplify continuing education for doctors

State Rep. Theresa Conroy, D-Seymour, said today the state House and Senate have approved legislation that will simplify the mandatory requirements of continuing medical education for doctors.

This bill (SB 466) requires physicians to take an hour of mandatory CME topics every six years and adds behavioral health to the list of mandatory courses. 

Other topics include infectious diseases, risk management, sexual assault, domestic violence, and cultural competency.

“I met with Fairfield County physicians over the winter on the topic of continuing medical education and the importance of adding behavioral health training,” Conroy said. “This is where the concept of this bill was born.” 

Seymour’s Paul Thompson, Fairfield County Medical Association Executive Director, facilitated the meeting. 

 “While most physicians would not argue these topics are important, depending on one’s medical specialty, many of these topics are not CMEs that relate to the area of the practitioner’s practice, nor do they necessarily reflect the professional needs of the doctor,” Thompson said in testimony to the legislature’s Public Health Committee. “Case in point, a psychiatrist does not treat infectious disease.”

By law, physicians applying for license renewal must have completed at least 50 contact hours of CME during the previous 24 months. 

Physicians are exempt from CME requirements during their first license renewal.

  

This post is taken from a press release from Conroy's office.