Hospitals, physicians push back on new surgery regulations in Massachusetts

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The Massachusetts medical board is facing pushback from hospitals and physicians regarding stricter surgical regulations in the state, reports The Boston Globe.

The regulations require physicians to tell patients who will participate in surgeries before getting written consent. During surgery, they're expected to document every time the lead surgeon enters and leaves the operating room. The new rules also threaten stricter punishments for physicians who come to work impaired or delegate responsibilities to unlicensed team members.

The Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association and the Massachusetts Medical Society on Sept. 20 called on the state medical board to delay the requirements by a year. The lobbying groups argue that the board rushed to implement the regulations, which they say are confusing and burdensome for physicians.

The board declined the groups' postponement request but offered to meet to discuss the regulations. 

"These regulatory enhancements have been in development for three years," Candace Lapidus Sloane, MD, a pediatric dermatologist who chairs the medical board, told The Boston Globe. "I struggle to understand the motivation for second-guessing these regulatory enhancements at this late stage."

To view the full report, click here.

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