Who must post the California Medical Notice of Licensure & Open Payments Database?
Notice of Licensure (16 CCR § 1355.4)
- Effective January 1, 2023, medical doctors licensed by the California Medical Board are required to notify patients of the fact that the licensee is licensed by the board, and the license can be checked and complaints against the licensee can be made through the board’s website or by contacting the board. The content, format, and manner of delivery of the notice to patients is prescribed by regulation.
- Licensees may comply by posting the notice in an area visible to patients on the premises where services are provided, in at least 38-point type in Arial font. The notice must contain a QR code linked to the board’s Notice to Consumers web page.
- If the posted notice is not in a language understood by the patient, the licensee must provide written notice in the appropriate language to the patient and obtain the patient’s acknowledgement of receipt.
Open Payments Database Notice (B&P Code § 663)
- Effective January 1, 2023, physicians and surgeons licensed in California are required to post a prescribed notice informing patients of the federal Open Payments database and providing the link to the federal Open Payments web page. The Open Payments database is a tool used to search payments made by drug and device companies to physicians and teaching hospitals.
- The Open Payments Database Notice must be posted in each location where the physician or surgeon practices, in an area that is likely to be seen by all persons who enter the office. The Open Payments Database Notice may be combined with the practitioner’s Notice of Licensure. (B&P § 633(d))
- Effective January 1, 2023, practitioners are also required to provide to each patient at the initial office visit written or electronic notice of the Open Payments database and obtain the patient’s signature to same.