BALTIMORE (AP) - The Maryland Board of Physicians says it's seeking statutory authority to conduct criminal background checks on medical license applicants.
Chairman Devinder Singh said after a board meeting Wednesday in Baltimore that if the panel could simply mandate the checks, it would. But federal law requires medical boards to obtain authority from their state legislatures before they can conduct criminal background checks on a national level.
The board's acting executive director says a draft bill should be ready for review by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene within a month.
The action follows a revelation that Allegany County physician William Dando was convicted in 1987 of raping a woman in Florida. Dando was charged in May with molesting a female patient. He has pleaded not guilty.
