TELEPHONE MEDICAL ADVICE SERVICES BUREAU

1625 North Market Blvd., Suite N112, Sacramento, CA 95834 Tel: (916) 574-7992 / Fax: (916) 574-8638 / www.dca.ca.gov/tmas

FACTS AT A GLANCE

BUREAU STAFF

Bureau Chief Legislative Contact Sherrie Moffet-Bell Kim Duran

LAWS AND REGULATIONS

Business and Professions Code §§ 4999-4999.7 Health and Safety Code § 1348.8 Insurance Code § 10279 California Code of Regulations, Title 16, Division 38, §§ 4000-4040

FY 2015-16 BUDGET INFORMATION

Telephone Medical Advice Services Program $174,000 1.0 Authorized positions

BOARD MEMBERS

Not Applicable

SUNSET REVIEW

Not Applicable

LICENSEE STATISTICS License Category Active

Registrants 67

FEES* Registered Provider ACTUAL FEE STATUTORY LIMIT

Registration Fee Biennial Renewal Fee $7,500 $7,500 Actual cost Actual cost

* The Bureau has additional fees that can be found in California Code of Regulations §4040.

LICENSING REQUIREMENTS**

Degree/Professional Schooling Examination NO NO

Continuing Education/Competency Fingerprinting Requirements NO NO

** While registrants of the Bureau do not need to meet these requirements, employees of a registrant are typically licensed by one of the other healing arts programs under the Department and must meet one or all of these requirements.

DETAILS

PROGRAM BACKGROUND

AB 285 (Corbett, Chapter 285, Statutes of 1999) established the Telephone Medical Advice Services Bureau (Bureau). The Bureau is responsible for registering all businesses that employ, contract, or subcontract with the full-time equivalent of five or more persons functioning as health care professionals and that engage in the business of providing telephone medical advice services to a patient at a California address. The Bureau currently oversees 67 registrants, more than half of which are located outside of California. These registrants utilize over 5,400 health care practitioners to provide medical advice.

COMMITTEES

None.

LICENSE REQUIREMENTS – Business and Professions Code §§ 4999-4999.7

Any business that employs, contracts or subcontracts, directly or indirectly, with the fulltime equivalent of five or more persons whose primary function is to provide telephone medical advice to California residents must register with the Bureau. This includes businesses located inside and outside the state of California. Individuals who offer these services incidental to their primary practice are not required to register. For example, a physician’s office staff that occasionally follows up a patient’s office visit with a telephone call does not qualify. Health care professionals working for a registrant are licensed and under the jurisdiction of their respective healing arts board as applicable to services provided.

RECIPROCITY

The Bureau registers businesses, including those outside of the state, that give advice to California consumers, but there is no reciprocity.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY SB 800 (Committee on Business, Professions, and Economic Development,

Chapter 426, Statutes of 2015) makes several clarifications that conform statute to existing business practices of the Bureau, including: (1) deleting references to “in-state” and “out-of-state” registrations; (2) making some additions and clarifications to the existing requirement that medical advice company registrants file a quarterly report with the Bureau; (3) adding naturopathic doctors and licensed professional clinical counselors to the statutory list of healing arts professionals that can provide telephone medical advice services; and, (4) making other minor, non-substantive clarifications.