This report originally appeared in the October 2009 issue of DOTmed Business News
State: New Oregon Laws on Health Coverage, Sonography/MRI Licensure
Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski has signed into law House bill 2245. This bill changes the law to require licensing for any person operating medical imaging modalities, using limited X-ray machine operator equipment or purporting to be a medical imaging licensee or a limited X-ray machine operator. Sonography and magnetic resonance imaging were also added to the modalities requiring a license.
A person may obtain a license under the new law if he or she passed a background check to the satisfaction of the Board of Medical Imaging, if the person has not had any type of license revoked or has not had a credential revoked and otherwise meets the standards of ethical conduct established in the professional standards of the corresponding national credentialing organization or a medical imaging modality's professional society.
Governor Ted Kulongoski also signed House Bill 2116 and 2009. Bill 2116 expands access to affordable health care for all children in Oregon by the time the Governor completes his time in office. Bill 2009 outlines steps needed to commence reforming Oregon's health care system. Measures include shifting approaches to health care towards emphasis on prevention, primary care and treatments proven to be effective. In addition, work will begin on creation of an Oregon Health Insurance Exchange, implementing an electronic health records system and planning for access to affordable quality health care by 2015.
Federal: Judge Upholds FTC Complaint against Marketers of "Cancer Cures"
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced charges have been upheld against Daniel Chapter One and its officer James Feijo for deceptive advertisin -claiming that shark cartilage and herbal formulations prevent, treat, and cure cancer, and heal the effects of chemotherapy and radiation. According to a press release by the FTC, following an administrative trial, Administrative Law Judge D. Michael ordered the marketers to cease the false and unsubstantiated claims.
"[The] respondents did not possess or rely upon competent and reliable scientific evidence to substantiate their claims," Chief Administrative Law Judge D. Michael Chappell wrote in his decision. In September 2008, the FTC staff charged Daniel Chapter One and Feijo with deceptive advertising, one of eleven operations challenged in a law enforcement sweep.
