§ 1400. Renewal of license; continuing medical education
(a) Every person licensed to practice medicine by the Board shall apply biennially for
the renewal of his or her license. At least one month prior to the date on which renewal
is required, the Board shall send to each licensee a license renewal application form
and notice of the date on which the existing license will expire. On or before the
renewal date, the licensee shall file an application for license renewal and pay the
required fee. The Board shall register the applicant and issue the renewal license.
Within one month following the date renewal is required, the Board shall pay the license
renewal fees into the Board of Medical Practice Regulatory Fee Fund.
(b) A licensee for renewal of an active license to practice medicine shall have completed
continuing medical education that shall meet minimum criteria as established by rule,
by the Board, by August 31, 2012 and that shall be in effect for the renewal of licenses
to practice medicine expiring after August 31, 2014. The Board shall require a minimum
of 10 hours of continuing medical education by rule. The training provided by the
continuing medical education shall be designed to assure that the licensee has updated
his or her knowledge and skills in his or her own specialties and also has kept abreast
of advances in other fields for which patient referrals may be appropriate. The Board
shall require evidence of current professional competence in recognizing the need
for timely appropriate consultations and referrals to assure fully informed patient
choice of treatment options, including treatments such as those offered by hospice,
palliative care, and pain management services.
(c) A licensee for renewal of an active license to practice medicine shall have practiced
medicine within the last three years as defined in section 1311 of this title or have complied with the requirements for updating knowledge and skills as defined
by Board rules.
(d) All licensees shall demonstrate that the requirements for licensure are met.
(e) A licensee shall promptly provide the Board with new or changed information pertinent
to the information in his or her license and license renewal applications at the time
he or she becomes aware of the new or changed information.
(f) A person who practices medicine and who fails to renew his or her license in accordance
with the provisions of this section shall be deemed an illegal practitioner and shall
forfeit the right to so practice or to hold himself or herself out as a person licensed
to practice medicine in the State until reinstated by the Board, except that a physician
while on extended active duty as a member of the U.S. Armed Forces, a reserve component
of the U.S. Armed Forces, the National Guard, or the State Guard who is licensed as
a physician at the time of an activation or deployment shall receive an extension
of licensure up to 90 days following the physician’s return from activation or deployment,
provided the physician notifies the Board of his or her activation or deployment prior
to the expiration of the current license and certifies that the circumstances of the
activation or deployment impede good faith efforts to make timely application for
renewal of the license.
(g) Any person who allows a license to lapse by failing to renew the same in accordance
with the provisions of this section may be reinstated by the Board by payment of the
renewal fee, the late renewal penalty, and if applicable, by completion of the required
continuing medical education requirement as established in subsection (b) of this
section and any other requirements for licensure as required by this section and Board
rule. (Amended 1967, No. 307 (Adj. Sess.), § 5, eff. March 22, 1968; 1975, No. 118, § 80; 1975, No. 249 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 1977, No. 91, § 4, eff. May 5, 1977; 1989, No. 250 (Adj. Sess.), § 42; 1995, No. 178 (Adj. Sess.), § 81; 2001, No. 132 (Adj. Sess.), § 12, eff. June 13, 2002; 2011, No. 60, § 7, eff. June 1, 2011; 2011, No. 61, § 2, eff. June 2, 2011; 2019, No. 126 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)