A small and simple bill appears about to pass and, if signed into law, would deliver huge legal protections for orthopedists and other licensed caregivers who travel with sports teams.
Sports Medicine Bill Huge Victory for Orthopedists
2 min read Premium comments
Secondary#congress#sportsmedicinelicensureclarityact
H.R. 302, the “Sports Medicine Licensure Clarity Act of 2017″ (“Sports Medicine Bill Before Congress” Orthopedics This Week, March 24, 2017), passed the U.S. Senate on September 6, 2018.
The House version, which passed in January, and the Senate version (both very similar to each other) are headed to conference committee where they will be merged, re-amended and sent back to the Senate. Most observers expect the bill to pass on a roll call vote or the unanimous consent calendar.
If enacted the bill represents a huge victory for traveling sports physicians, the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) said at its website. “Thanks to the continued collaborative efforts of the AAOS, the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) Council of Delegates and Team Physician Committee, we can now look forward to crossing the finish line and closing this long-standing medical liability loophole,” said AOSSM President Neal S. ElAttrache, M.D., in a quote at the AAOS website.
“Traveling sports medicine providers should not have to choose between treating injured athletes at great professional and financial risk, or handing over care to a less familiar provider—reducing patients’ access to quality health care services,” said AAOS President David A. Halsey, M.D.
Under current laws and regulations, traveling medical staff can’t treat their own team’s players in another state.
The legislation would allow sports medicine professionals who travel with teams to treat athletes. Also, it specifies that their services provided in another state are covered by their medical liability insurance as if they’d done their work in their home states.
Representatives Brett Guthrie (R-Kentucky) and Cedric Richmond (D-Louisiana) introduced the House bill, H.R. 302, in January 2017. Senators. John Thune (R-South Dakota) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) introduced the Senate bill, S. 808, in April 2017. The Senate passed the bill under the House bill number.
The Senate bill made what seem to be only minor changes to the House bill. It adds a paragraph saying that a traveling team sports doctor can’t provide services exceeding either her/his license at home or the scope of “a substantially similar” sports medicine professional license in the traveled-to state, nor act in violation of any reciprocity agreement between the two states or among several states which have a compact for such services.
React:
Discussion
This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
Join the conversation
Orthopedic professionals are discussing this. Sign in and upgrade to read every comment and add your voice.