The state agency in charge of licensing and discipline of doctors \u2013 including tracking those who have made medical malpractice payments \u2013 has had its funding cut.<\/p>\n
Eighteen out of 26 medical investigators and staff have been laid off from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, which provides licenses for the 46,000 doctors in the state, and investigates claims of wrongdoing. The agency said the cuts were necessary because of a $9.6 million shortfall in the budget.<\/p>\n
The cut in personnel will likely lead to delays in issuing licenses to physicians, as well as fewer or less thorough investigations of doctors.<\/p>\n
Currently, the agency takes six to eight weeks to process an application from a recent medical school graduate or a doctor moving from out of state. A further delay could result in hospitals being short-staffed.<\/p>\n
The staffing cutback comes at a bad time for an agency that had struggled to (more…)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The state agency in charge of licensing and discipline of doctors \u2013 including tracking those who have made medical malpractice payments \u2013 has had its funding cut. Eighteen out of 26 medical investigators and staff have been laid off from…<\/span><\/p>\n