The Connecticut Medical Examining Board disciplines doctors at a lesser rate than almost every state in the country, according to a new report put out by Public Citizen, a health care consumer group.
Connecticut ranks 48th out of 50 states and the District of Columbia in the per capita number of serious disciplinary actions reported by industry regulators. Those disciplinary actions include license revocations, suspensions or probation, over three years.
For every 1,000 doctors in Connecticut, there were 1.69 serious actions.
Nationally, the 2010 rate was 2.97 serious actions per 1,000 physicians, 20 percent lower than the peak rate in 2004 of 3.72 serious actions per 1,000 physicians.
The most recent three-year average state disciplinary rates ranged from 1.29 serious actions per 1,000 physicians (Minnesota) to 5.98 actions per 1,000 physicians (Louisiana), a 4.6-fold difference between the best and worst state doctor disciplinary boards.
The only states that had a lower rate than Connecticut were Wisconsin, South Carolina and Minnesota.
