Medical Justice provides free consultations to doctors facing medico-legal obstacles. We have solutions for doctor-patient conflicts, unwarranted demands for refunds, online defamation (patient review mischief), meritless litigation, and a gazillion other issues. We also provide counsel specific to COVID-19. If you are navigating a medico-legal obstacle, visit our booking page to schedule a free consultation – or use the tool shared below.

You passed your specialty Boards. Congrats! You’re Board-certified, right? And you can say so on your website, right?

Maybe.

In medicine and in lay language, the term “board-certified” is widely understood to mean a doctor who possesses exceptional expertise in a particular area.

The granddaddy of certificating organizations is the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). Other “recognized board certifying organizations” are: American Osteopathic Association Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists (BOS), the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.

The ABMS has 24 Member Boards and certifies physicians in 40 specialty and 89 subspecialty areas.

Are there other certifying organizations? Yes. There are. And this has spawned grassroots lobbying in different states to promote or limit whether a physician can say they are “board certified.”

Let’s start with Texas.

Since 2010, Texas’s rules on advertising board certification is limiting as below.

According to the rules, a physician may use the term “board certified” in any advertising for his or her practice if:

1.  the specialty board that conferred the certification and the certifying organization is:

a. a member board of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS),

b. a member board of the American Osteopathic Association Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists (BOS), or

c. is the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery;

2.  a physician holds a certification that was granted prior to September 1, 2010, and whose certifying board was approved by the medical board for advertising purposes prior to September 1, 2010, or

3.  the TMB determines that the physician-based certifying organization that conferred the certification has certification requirements that are substantially equivalent to the requirements of the ABMS or the BOS existing at the time of application to the medical board.

To qualify under Option 3, above, physicians must submit an application to a committee of the TMB and demonstrate that:

(1) the organization requires all physicians who are seeking certification to successfully pass a written or an oral examination or both, which tests the applicant’s knowledge and skills in the specialty or subspecialty area of medicine. All or part of the examination may be delegated to a testing organization. All examinations require a psychometric evaluation for validation;

(2) the organization has written proof of a determination by the Internal Revenue Service that the certifying board is tax-exempt under the Internal Revenue Code pursuant to Section 501(c);

(3) the organization has a permanent headquarters and staff;

(4) the organization has at least 100 duly licensed members, fellows, diplomates, or certificate holders from at least one-third of the states;

(5) the organization requires all physicians who are seeking certification to have successfully completed postgraduate training that is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) or the American Osteopathic Association and that provides substantial and identifiable supervised training of comprehensive scope in the specialty or subspecialty certified and the organization utilizes appropriate peer review;

(6) the organization provides an online resource for the consumer to verify the board certification of its members; and

(7) the organization has the ability to provide a full explanation of its certification process and membership upon request by the Texas Medical Board.

Under option (3), that’s quite a list; meaning, if the certifying board is not listed in (1), and you are not covered by (2), the physician needs to ask the Texas Medical Board upfront and make his/her case. And wait for approval.

Onward to California. This is what the California Medical Board writes:

Pursuant to Business and Professions Code section 651, in California physicians may not advertise that they are board certified unless they have been certified by an ABMS Member Board or an equivalent board recognized by the Medical Board of California. The Medical Board has approved the following specialty boards: American Board of Facial and Plastic Reconstructive Surgery; American Board of Pain Medicine; American Board of Sleep Medicine; and the American Board of Spine Surgery.

Unless physicians are certified by a specialty board as defined by law, physicians are prohibited from using the term “board certified” in their advertisements. The law does not, however, prohibit the advertising of specialization regardless of board certification status, nor does it prohibit the use of “diplomat, member, approved by,” or any other term that is subject to interpretation by prospective patients.

And Colorado keeps it simple. Its medical licensing board merely states the doctor may not use any false or deceptive advertising. It is silent on the question of non-ABMS certifying boards.

What if you are “board certified” from organization in Canada (Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, RCPSC)?

If you practice in North Carolina, you can write “board-certified.” It is explicitly allowed.

If you practice in Colorado, you can write “board-certified.” It is not explicitly prohibited.

If you practice in California, you probably cannot write “board-certified.” California requires ABMS or equivalent approved organization. Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada does not qualify.

So, to use the term “board-certified” in your advertising, you need to first look to your state’s regulations and licensing board’s analysis. Each state is different. Repeat, each state is different.

Of course, if you are certified by a “non-listed” Board, you may not have to be constrained by the phrase “board-certified.” You may be able to write “diplomate of the American Board of XXX.” As long as it is not false or deceptive.

And don’t get me started on Maintenance of Certification.

What do you think?

Medical Justice provides free consultations to doctors facing medico-legal obstacles. We have solutions for doctor-patient conflicts, unwarranted demands for refunds, online defamation (patient review mischief), meritless litigation, and a gazillion other issues. We also provide counsel specific to COVID-19. If you are navigating a medico-legal obstacle, visit our booking page to schedule a free consultation – or use the tool shared below.

Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD

Chief Executive Officer and Founder

Dr. Jeffrey Segal, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Medical Justice, is a board-certified neurosurgeon. Dr. Segal is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons; the American College of Legal Medicine; and the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. He is also a member of the North American Spine Society. In the process of conceiving, funding, developing, and growing Medical Justice, Dr. Segal has established himself as one of the country’s leading authorities on medical malpractice issues, counterclaims, and internet-based assaults on reputation.

Dr. Segal was a practicing neurosurgeon for approximately ten years, during which time he also played an active role as a participant on various state-sanctioned medical review panels designed to decrease the incidence of meritless medical malpractice cases.

Dr. Segal holds a M.D. from Baylor College of Medicine, where he also completed a neurosurgical residency. Dr. Segal served as a Spinal Surgery Fellow at The University of South Florida Medical School. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa as well as the AOA Medical Honor Society. Dr. Segal received his B.A. from the University of Texas and graduated with a J.D. from Concord Law School with highest honors.

In 2000, he co-founded and served as CEO of DarPharma, Inc, a biotechnology company in Chapel Hill, NC, focused on the discovery and development of first-of-class pharmaceuticals for neuropsychiatric disorders.

Dr. Segal is also a partner at Byrd Adatto, a national business and health care law firm. Byrd Adatto was selected as a Best Law Firm in the 2023 edition of the “Best Law Firms” list by U.S. News – Best Lawyers. With over 50 combined years of experience in serving doctors, dentists, and other providers, Byrd Adatto has a national pedigree to address most legal issues that arise in the business and practice of medicine.