The Medical Licensing Board was established as the State Board of Medical Registration and Examination by an act of the Indiana General Assembly in 1897.[2][3] Upon establishment, the board first issued licenses for physicians; it expanded to osteopaths in 1901.[4] It had responsibility for chiropractic until 1981 and for podiatry until 1993;[4] those areas are now governed by the Board of Chiropractic Examiners[5] and the Podiatric Medicine Board,[6] respectively.
In 1945, the word "State" was dropped from the board's name, making it the Board of Medical Registration and Examination of Indiana;[4] its current name, the Medical Licensing Board, was adopted in 1975.[4]
Governance and makeup
The board is made up of seven members, appointed by the state governor, no more than four of which can be of the same political party.[4][7] Five of the members are required to be physicians, and one an osteopathic physician; the seventh member serves as a representative of the general public and is required to be in no way associated with the medical profession other than as a consumer. Members serve a four-year term, with no limit on the number of times they can be re-appointed.[4]
The board is responsible for licensing the following:[4]
Limited scope physicians (a temporary permit, limited to specific activities, functions, series of events or purpose, and to a specific geographic area within the state of Indiana);[8]
^An Act regulating the practice of medicine, surgery and obstetrics, providing for the issuing of licenses to practice, providing for the appointment of a State Board of Medical Registration and Examination and defining their duties, defining certain misdemeanors and providing penalties, and repealing all laws in conflict therewith and certain acts therein specified, H. 226, Indiana General Assembly, March 8, 1897.
