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Osteopathic board addresses delinquent licenses, stepped‑up citations and caseload strain
Summary
Board staff briefed members on licensing growth and a 32% rise in applications, rollout of a live electronic fictitious‑name portal, and outreach to roughly 741 in‑state delinquent licensees; enforcement reported rising workload, more citations (12 issued), 15 accusations filed year‑to‑date, and average analyst caseloads well above recommended levels.
The Osteopathic Medical Board of California on April 23 reported increased licensing activity and stepped‑up enforcement as staff roll out new online tools and pursue delinquent licensees.
Licensing program manager Machiko Chong told the board applications had risen 32% and the agency has modernized its Breeze portal, bringing back a revised electronic fictitious‑name permit form (live Feb. 18). The board has decided to stop accepting paper fictitious‑name applications and said 79 permits have already been processed electronically.
Chong also reported an initial list of approximately 1,946 licenses flagged as delinquent in an early data pull; further review found many were out‑of‑state, deceased, or over age 70. After outreach the licensing unit re‑renewed or cleared nearly 294 records and continues outreach to roughly 741 in‑state delinquents.
Enforcement program manager Christy Livermento said enforcement volume has increased: year‑to‑date, the board has opened 913 complaints and received 13 mandatory 805 reports; the board issued 39 educational letters (up from 18 last fiscal year), 12 administrative citations under the board’s expanded citation authority, and filed 15 accusations so far this fiscal year (an 88% increase over last year). Three revocations have been ordered, four licenses placed on probation, and four public letters of reprimand issued. Hepresented case‑timing metrics showing desk investigations averaging 223 days and cases referred to the Attorney General averaging 616 days to completion (the latter affected by AG/OAH timelines).
Livermento and licensing staff warned that analyst caseloads are strained: current average per analyst was reported around 262 active matters, well above an internal target of ~80. Staff said one analyst has been on leave for an extended period and that the unit is preparing to reassign work and seek additional support.
What’s next: Licensing and enforcement staff said they will continue targeted outreach to delinquent in‐state licensees, continue adoption of the Breeze portal for fictitious‑name permits, and work with DCA budget staff and AG offices to manage caseload flow and statute‑of‑limitations deadlines.
Reporting note: Numbers and claims are taken from in‑meeting updates to the board; the licensing unit cautioned that initial delinquency totals required manual review and that many flagged records represented out‑of‑state addresses or retirees.
