Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, generally prohibits the practice of medicine without a physician's and surgeon's certificate issued by the Medical Board of California. The Medical Practice Act authorizes a person who meets certain eligibility requirements to apply to the board for a special faculty permit, which authorizes the holder to practice medicine without a physician's and surgeon's certificate only within a medical school itself, in any affiliated institution of the medical school, or in an academic medical center and any affiliated institution in which the permitholder is providing instruction as part of the medical school's or academic medical center's educational program and for which the medical school or academic medical center has assumed direct responsibility. Existing law defines "academic medical center" for these purposes as a facility that meets certain requirements. Among those requirements, existing law requires the facility to train a minimum of 250 resident physicians annually and to be accredited by both the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

This bill would modify the requirements for a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center to qualify as an academic medical center by, instead, requiring the facility to train 25 resident or fellow physicians annually and exempting the facility from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges accreditation requirement.

Existing law requires the board to establish a review committee to review and make recommendations to the board regarding applicants applying for special faculty permits and requires the review committee to include one representative to represent academic medical centers in California. Existing law authorizes the board to approve up to 5 applications for special faculty permits submitted by academic medical centers in any calendar year.

This bill would require the individual representing academic medical centers to be from a facility that trains a minimum of 250 resident physicians in Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education accredited residencies on an annual basis. The bill would authorize the board to approve up to 5 applications for special faculty permits submitted by each academic medical center in any calendar year.