The state Board of Medicine will give staff members more authority over many disciplinary cases to try to reduce a backlog of more than 2,000 complaints against doctors and other health professionals. It is about time!
Under Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s “Virginia Performs” initiative, all of the state boards are being asked to resolve 90 percent of their complaints related to patient care within 250 days. So far this year, the boards have met that goal about 40 percent of the time.