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By Cheryl Powell and Bill Lilley
Beacon Journal staff writers
POSTED: 06:40 p.m. EDT, Jun 30, 2009
Physicians and doctors in training across the state were facing their own medical emergencies on Tuesday.
Dr. Sharon Van Nostran was among physicians statewide who rushed to Columbus to renew their medical licenses before they expired at midnight.
Because of a glitch in the state's computerized licensing system, Van Nostran and others were unable to renew their licenses online.
The board has agreed to grant a week extension to those doctors who were unable to renew online or make the trek to Columbus.
Under Ohio law, doctors can't continue practicing medicine after their state license expires unless they're renewed every two years.
Physician residents also are required to renew their training license every year to continue caring for patients during their residency programs. Those training licenses typically start July 1, when hospital residency programs begin each year.
Van Nostran said she had been attempting unsuccessfully since last week to renew her license on the state's Web site.
The Akron family medicine doctor works with residents at Summa Health System.
On Tuesday afternoon, she finally gave up and drove to the state capital to pay the $305 fee and fill out the paperwork in person.
Her partners agreed to care for a couple patients she was supposed to see in the hospital.
''I'm on my way to Columbus,'' she said on an interview from her cell phone. ''I don't have a choice. I would be practicing without a license after midnight.''
Van Nostran said that doctors are notified by the state about a month in advance when their license is going to expire.
''Hopefully,'' she said, ''there weren't that many people who waited until the end of the cycle.''
About 5,000 doctors statewide needed to renew their medical licenses before the midnight deadline, according to the State Medical Board of Ohio.
State Medical Board spokeswoman Joan Wehrle said the shutdown affected more than just doctors who were attempting to renew their license on the last day.
''All of the regulatory boards for the state use the centralized E-licensing system,'' Wehrle said. ''People in many different professions needed to renew their license June 30.''
Late Tuesday afternoon, Wehrle said computer technicians were still trying to determine what happened.
The online license renewal system has been used for two years without similar problems, she said.
''We're trying to get as much information as possible because a lot of people have been affected,'' she said. ''This situation has the potential to create quite a ripple effect through the health-care industry.''
The computer glitch could cause a major problem for patients in rural areas or small hospitals if physicians can't renew their licenses and no other doctor in that specialty is available, Van Nostran said.
Drs. Mihal Emberton and Manasi Revankar decided they couldn't afford to wait, so they made an emergency car trip to the state medical board on Tuesday afternoon to pay the $35 fee and renew their medical training licenses.
Revankar, who starts the final year of her family medicine residency at Summa today, was scheduled to work an overnight shift.
Without a renewed license, she could have been pulled from the hospital floor at midnight.
''I even woke up at 3:30 in the morning, thinking it was just a lot of people were trying to access the Web site at the same time, but that didn't do the trick either,'' she said. ''Hopefully, we'll get this taken care of.''
Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or chpowell@thebeaconjournal.com. Bill Lilley can be reached at 330-996-3811 or blilley@thebeaconjournal.com.
Physicians and doctors in training across the state were facing their own medical emergencies on Tuesday.
Dr. Sharon Van Nostran was among physicians statewide who rushed to Columbus to renew their medical licenses before they expired at midnight.
Because of a glitch in the state's computerized licensing system, Van Nostran and others were unable to renew their licenses online.
The board has agreed to grant a week extension to those doctors who were unable to renew online or make the trek to Columbus.
Under Ohio law, doctors can't continue practicing medicine after their state license expires unless they're renewed every two years.
Physician residents also are required to renew their training license every year to continue caring for patients during their residency programs. Those training licenses typically start July 1, when hospital residency programs begin each year.
Van Nostran said she had been attempting unsuccessfully since last week to renew her license on the state's Web site.
The Akron family medicine doctor works with residents at Summa Health System.
On Tuesday afternoon, she finally gave up and drove to the state capital to pay the $305 fee and fill out the paperwork in person.
Her partners agreed to care for a couple patients she was supposed to see in the hospital.
''I'm on my way to Columbus,'' she said on an interview from her cell phone. ''I don't have a choice. I would be practicing without a license after midnight.''
Van Nostran said that doctors are notified by the state about a month in advance when their license is going to expire.
''Hopefully,'' she said, ''there weren't that many people who waited until the end of the cycle.''
About 5,000 doctors statewide needed to renew their medical licenses before the midnight deadline, according to the State Medical Board of Ohio.
State Medical Board spokeswoman Joan Wehrle said the shutdown affected more than just doctors who were attempting to renew their license on the last day.
''All of the regulatory boards for the state use the centralized E-licensing system,'' Wehrle said. ''People in many different professions needed to renew their license June 30.''
Late Tuesday afternoon, Wehrle said computer technicians were still trying to determine what happened.
The online license renewal system has been used for two years without similar problems, she said.
''We're trying to get as much information as possible because a lot of people have been affected,'' she said. ''This situation has the potential to create quite a ripple effect through the health-care industry.''
The computer glitch could cause a major problem for patients in rural areas or small hospitals if physicians can't renew their licenses and no other doctor in that specialty is available, Van Nostran said.
Drs. Mihal Emberton and Manasi Revankar decided they couldn't afford to wait, so they made an emergency car trip to the state medical board on Tuesday afternoon to pay the $35 fee and renew their medical training licenses.
Revankar, who starts the final year of her family medicine residency at Summa today, was scheduled to work an overnight shift.
Without a renewed license, she could have been pulled from the hospital floor at midnight.
''I even woke up at 3:30 in the morning, thinking it was just a lot of people were trying to access the Web site at the same time, but that didn't do the trick either,'' she said. ''Hopefully, we'll get this taken care of.''
Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or chpowell@thebeaconjournal.com. Bill Lilley can be reached at 330-996-3811 or blilley@thebeaconjournal.com.
Comments
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Posted 07:09 PM, 06/30/2009
Why does one pay $305 fee and the other two doctors pay $35; was it a typo or is the $35 just for residents in training?
bellefontaine, oh
Posted 08:56 AM, 07/01/2009
I had the same problem when trying to renew my counselor license about two months ago, contrary to Ms. Wehrle's assertion. My wife had the same problem when trying to renew her RN license last month. Don't try to renew online during regular business hours. Do it at night or very early in the morning or on the weekend.
