For Immediate Release: February 14, 2006

House passes bill requiring background checks for health care professionals

Olympia - The House has approved and sent to the Senate a bill to require background checks on persons applying for a state license as health care professionals in Washington state. The vote was 83 to 13.
 
House Bill 2431, introduced by Rep. Tom Campbell (R-Roy), seeks to require the Dept. of Health to conduct background checks on all healthcare practitioners who apply for a state license.
 
In debate on the House floor, Campbell said the background check would involve the National Practitioner Data Bank and the Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank on all license holders every four years.
 
"Just a week ago, a King County gynecologist was sentenced to 20 years in prison after he was convicted of sexual crimes against four patients," Campbell noted. "This was a licensed physician who exploited vulnerable people who trusted him as a health care provider."
 
Under the legislation,  where a health care applicant has a criminal record in Washington or is new to the state, an electronic fingerprint-based national background check could be conducted through the Washington State Patrol or the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
 
"There are far too many instances where health care providers are provided a license to practice without documentation of their history as a professional," Campbell added.
 
The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration before the 2006 session ends on March 9,  less than four weeks away.

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For more information, contact Rep. Tom Campbell @ (360) 86-7912.