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Council hearing reviews four licensing boards' FY24–FY25 performance and HORA implementation
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Summary
The Committee on Health convened on March 5 to review FY24 performance and FY25 activities from the chairs of the Boards of Pharmacy, Medicine, Psychology and Dentistry, including implementation of health occupation statute changes, licensure processing times, board vacancies and rulemaking priorities.
The Committee on Health convened a hybrid hearing March 5 to review fiscal-year performance and ongoing implementation work from four District licensing boards: Pharmacy, Medicine, Psychology and Dentistry. Each board chair summarized licensure counts, complaint and enforcement activity, and rulemaking priorities tied to the Health Occupations Revision/General Amendment Acts.
Highlights from each board:
- Board of Pharmacy (Chair Dr. Lisonbee Hill): As of Feb. 6, 2025, the board licensed 4,984 pharmacy professionals. The board completed a migration to a date-of-birth renewal model intended to stagger renewals and reduce administrative backlog. Dr. Hill said the board finalized patient-education materials for pharmacists prescribing hormonal contraceptives and is working to strengthen pharmacy technician rules and workplace protections after a workforce survey. Board staff reported they have reduced pharmacist-licensure processing times (13 days average in FY25 vs. 57 days prior year) by delegating certain approvals to staff.
- Board of Medicine (Chair Dr. Andrea Anderson): The board’s licensure census totaled 16,481 licensees as of Feb. 21, 2025, including physicians and physician assistants. Dr. Anderson said the board approved several regulation updates, migrated to the DOB renewal model and implemented licensing pathways for doulas, professional midwives and an emeritus licensure pathway. The board noted three vacancies (one physician and two physician assistants) and said applications are under review with the Mayor’s Office of Talent and Appointments (MOTA).
- Board of Psychology (Chair Dr. Anthony Jimenez): The board oversees about 1,600 psychologists and 285 psychology associates (Feb. 2025). It has suspended reliance on the two-part EPPP2 exam and currently requires EPPP1 while national testing organizations revise and possibly integrate the exam. The board also will implement licensure categories added by recent legislation, including behavioral analysts, and is forming subcommittees to draft regulations.
- Board of Dentistry (Chair Dr. Michelle La Tortue): As of Feb. 19, 2025, the board’s census included 1,255 dentists and about 522 dental hygienists. The board reported 27 complaints in FY24 and six in FY25 to date; FY24 enforcement produced 35 fines totaling $75,000. The board implemented scope expansions from the Health Occupations Revision act, including a level-3 dental assistant category and expanded hygienist duties, and is pursuing regulatory updates and a second amnesty for unregistered dental assistants (Jan. 1–April 30, 2025).
Across the boards, committee members discussed vacancies (boards reported several openings and staff said MOTA is working on appointments), the migration to the date-of-birth renewal model, telehealth guidance and alignment of professional scope-of-practice with neighboring jurisdictions to ease workforce recruitment. Committee Chair Christina Henderson asked boards to use open-session meetings to surface policy problems that may require legislative fixes and said the committee will follow up with DHCF and other agencies on issues raised during public testimony.
Ending: The hearing identified near-term follow-ups for DHCF and board staff, including data on complaints/fines, timelines for draft regulations for new licensure categories and continued attention to workforce pipeline issues and telehealth guidance.
