How Arizona's Medical Regulatory Boards Are Meant to Work
A plain-language guide to the four boards, what each one licenses, and what happens to a complaint once it is filed.
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Arizona licenses its medical practitioners through four separate regulatory boards. Each has its own staff, its own complaint process and its own reporting obligations, and each one publishes a different amount of detail about what it does.
The four boards
The Arizona Medical Board licenses allopathic physicians. The Arizona State Board of Nursing licenses registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and nurse practitioners. The Arizona Board of Osteopathic Examiners licenses osteopathic physicians. The Arizona Regulatory Board of Physician Assistants licenses physician assistants.
What happens to a complaint
A complaint is received, assigned a case number, and reviewed by staff. Most are closed at that stage. A smaller number proceed to investigation, and a smaller number again reach the board itself for a disposition. The gap between the number filed and the number acted upon is the subject this publication exists to document.
Where the records live
Board meeting minutes, annual reports and Auditor General reviews are all public. So, in most cases, are the documents generated while a complaint is considered. Our Editorial Methodology sets out how we obtain and verify them.