The continued professional competency of a physician holding a permanent license must be demonstrated in the following manner:

(1) For renewal of a permanent license initially issued during a biennial renewal period, compliance with all educational, examination, and other requirements for the issuance of a permanent license is sufficient for the first renewal period following initial licensure.

(2) For renewal of an active permanent license biennially, documented evidence of at least one of following options during the renewal period is required:

(a) forty hours of Category I continuing medical education sponsored by the American Medical Association, American Osteopathic Association, or another organization approved by the board as having acceptable standards for courses it sponsors, at least thirty hours of which must be related directly to the licensee's practice area, and at least two (2) hours of which may be related to approved procedures of prescribing and monitoring controlled substances listed in Schedules II, III, and IV of the schedules provided for in Sections 44-53-210, 44-53-230, 44-53-250, and 44-53-270, and must be received from a statewide organization recognized by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to recognize and accredit organizations in South Carolina offering continuing medical education or from a statewide organization approved to provide continuing medical education by its national organization which is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education. Each renewal form submitted pursuant to Section 40-47-41 must include a certificate of participation with the prescribing and monitoring education requirement issued by the organization from which the education was received;

(b) certification of added qualifications or recertification after examination by a national specialty board recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties or American Osteopathic Association or another approved specialty board certification;

(c) completion of a residency program or fellowship in medicine in the United States or Canada approved by the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education or American Osteopathic Association;

(d) passage of the Special Purpose Examination or Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Variable Purpose Examination; or

(e) successful completion of a clinical skills assessment program approved by the board, such as the Institute for Physician Evaluation or the Center for Personalized Education for Physicians.

(3) For reinstatement or reactivation of a permanent license from lapsed or inactive status of less than four years, documented evidence of at least one of the following options within the preceding two years is required:

(a) forty hours of Category I continuing medical education sponsored by the American Medical Association, American Osteopathic Association, or another organization approved by the board as having acceptable standards for courses it sponsors, at least thirty hours of which must be directly related to the licensee's practice area;

(b) certification of added qualifications or recertification after examination by a national specialty board recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties or American Osteopathic Association or another approved specialty board certification;

(c) completion of a residency program or fellowship in medicine in the United States or Canada approved by the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education or American Osteopathic Association;

(d) passage of the Special Purpose Examination or Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Variable Purpose Examination; or

(e) successful completion of a clinical skills assessment program approved by the board, such as the Institute for Physician Evaluation or the Center for Personalized Education for Physicians.

(4) For reinstatement or reactivation of a permanent license from lapsed or inactive status of four years or more, documented evidence of at least one of the following options within the preceding two years is required:

(a) certification of added qualifications or recertification after examination by a national specialty board recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties or American Osteopathic Association or another approved specialty board certification;

(b) completion of a residency program or fellowship in medicine in the United States or Canada approved by the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education or American Osteopathic Association;

(c) passage of the Special Purpose Examination or Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Variable Purpose Examination; or

(d) successful completion of a clinical skills assessment program approved by the board, such as the Institute for Physician Evaluation or the Center for Personalized Education for Physicians.

(5) For reinstatement or reactivation of a lapsed or an inactive status of a permanent license of a licensee who has been in active practice in another state, compliance with any of the requirements of this section within the preceding two years is sufficient.

HISTORY: 2006 Act No. 385, Section 1; 2014 Act No. 244 (S.840), Section 5, eff June 6, 2014.

Effect of Amendment

2014 Act No. 244, Section 5, rewrote subsection (2)(A), adding text following "at least thirty hours of which must be related directly to the licensee's practice area".