House Bill 228 Summary

• Establishes definitions for licenses, licensees, inactive licenses, and medical treatment modalities to modernize North Carolina medical practice statutes.

• Requires the Medical Board to meet at least quarterly rather than annually and grants the Board jurisdiction over inactive licenses regardless of how they became inactive.

• Creates a mandatory duty for all Board licensees to report within 30 days any incidents involving sexual misconduct or drug diversion by other licensees, with immunity from civil liability for good faith reports.

• Reduces training requirements for foreign medical school graduates from three years to two years and allows specialty board certification as an alternative pathway to licensure.

• Creates new felony offense for sexual contact or penetration under pretext of medical treatment, effective December 1, 2019, and expands scope of practice for physician assistants and nurse practitioners in death certification.