Utah legislators advanced a bill to the state Senate Feb. 26 that would prohibit hospitals and health systems in the state from testing a physician's competency through a cognitive test after they reach a certain age, according to Desert News.
Here are five things to know about the bill.
1. The bill, SB217, prohibits healthcare facilities in the state from requiring physicians to take a cognitive test when they reach a specified age, unless the test conforms with national standards outlined by the American Medical Association.
2. Various healthcare experts statewide have since declared their support for the bill, claiming requiring physicians to take a cognitive test amounts to "just aging them out of the ability to practice," according to Utah Medical Association CEO Michelle McOmber.
3. However, some experts are in favor of administering such tests. A Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Healthcare official told the publication the health system mandates physicians undergo cognitive testing once they turn 71 years old.
"The health care system that's conducting these tests is Intermountain Healthcare and we've implemented these tests for the purposes of safety. The number of physicians over 70 has increased by 347 percent since 1975," the official said.
4. Senate committee members also expressed reservations regarding the bill, arguing while the AMA has introduced standards for such a test, the organization has not established an actual cognitive test for physicians, the report states. Committee members reportedly agreed to advance the bill if a stipulation was made that called for the bill to go into effect once the AMA created a test comparable to the one currently in use at Intermountain Healthcare.
5. The bill was amended and committee members voted unanimously to advance the bill to the full Senate with favorable recommendation Feb. 26.