Texas statutes do not require physicians to carry malpractice insurance. However, malpractice insurance is a requirement for privileges at many hospitals.

The TMB doesn’t make referrals or recommendations. However, if you look up a doctor using “Look up a Licensee,” you can see the doctor’s reported specialty area of practice and any reported specialty board certifications. You can also see where your doctor went to medical school and whether your doctor has been disciplined by the Texas Medical Board.

The corporate practice of medicine is a legal doctrine, which generally prohibits corporations, entities or individuals (i.e. non-physicians) from practicing medicine.

A general summary of the corporate practice of medicine doctrine is that it prohibits physicians from entering into partnerships, employee relationships, fee splitting, or other situations with non-physicians where the physician's practice of medicine is in any way controlled or directed by, or fees shared with a non-physician. Generally, physicians may enter into independent contractor arrangements with non-physicians. However, whether an independent contractor situation exists is a question of law and attendant facts.

Section 165.156 of the Medical Practice Act makes it unlawful for any individual, partnership, trust, association or corporation by use of any letters, words, or terms, as an affix on stationery or advertisements or in any other manner, to indicate the individual, partnership, trust, association or corporation is entitled to practice medicine if the individual or entity is not licensed to do so.

Section 164.052(a)(13) of the Medical Practice Act authorizes disciplinary action against any licensee for impersonation of a licensed practitioner or permitting another to use his license to practice medicine. Section 164.052(a)(17) authorizes disciplinary action against a practitioner for aiding or abetting, directly or indirectly, the practice of medicine by non-licensed individuals or entities.

Beginning in 2011, the Texas Legislature enacted laws authorizing certain types of hospitals and specific hospital districts to directly hire physicians.

Because of the highly technical aspects of this doctrine, a physician should consult with private counsel regarding any actual or contemplated arrangement. Please be advised that the Board staff is not authorized to provide private legal advice.

The following case law/legal authority may be helpful in the analysis and are available from any local law library or private counsel:

a. Garcia v. Texas State Board of Medical Examiners, 384 F.Supp. 434 (W.D. Texas 1974);

b. F.W.B. Rockett v. Texas State Board of Medical Examiners, 287 S.W.2d 190 (Tex. Civ.App.- San Antonio 1956, writ ref'd n.r.e.);

c. Watt v. Texas State Board of Medical Examiners, 303 S.W.2d 884 (Tex. Civ. App.- Dallas 1957, writ ref'd n.r.e.);

d. Flynn Brothers, Inc. v. First Medical Associates, 715 S.W.2d 782 (Tex. Civ. App.- Dallas 1986, writ ref'd n.r.e.)

e. Woodson v. Scott & White Hospital, 186 S.W.2d 720 (Tex. App. 1945, writ ref'd w.o.m.)

f. Tex. Atty. Gen. Op. JM-1042 (1989)

g. Tex. Atty. Gen. Op. WW-278 (1957).

h. Tex. Atty. Gen. Op. JM 369 (1985)

i. Tex. Atty. Gen. Op. DM-138 (1992)

j. Tex. Atty. Gen. Op. M-551 (1970)

k. The Medical Practice Act, Texas Occupations Code Annotated, Title 3, Subtitle B as amended, section 162.001.

l. The Medical Practice Act, Texas Occupations Code Annotated, Title 3, Subtitle B as amended, section 162.001.

m. The Medical Practice Act, Texas Occupations Code Annotated, Title 3, Subtitle B as amended, 151.055.

n. Occupations Code, section 102.001.

The TMB does not provide a referral service or make recommendations to patient consumers regarding specific health care providers. Here are some tips on locating a new physician:

• Contact your health insurance provider – check with your group or individual health plan or employer’s benefits office. Plans will have a listing of providers who accept your insurance and can offer further guidance.

For physicians who accept Medicare payments, visit the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Physician Compare: https://www.medicare.gov/physiciancompare/.

For Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), visit https://hhs.texas.gov/services/health/medicaid-chip.

• Check the Texas Medical Board’s website – licensees of the Medical Board are searchable several ways including by city, zip code and specialty. Visit the following link: http://www.tmb.state.tx.us/page/look-up-a-license.

• Texas Health Compare – an online guide from the Texas Department of Insurance for choosing health plans and providers, available at the following link: http://www.texashealthoptions.com/compare/index.html.

• Other provider directories – another helpful resource is the National Institutes of Health’s MedlinePlus, available at the following link: https://medlineplus.gov/directories.html.

This number, assigned to you at the time you submitted your application for licensure, for physicians can be found online through LIST (Licensure Inquiry System of Texas) or for all other applicants through contacting the Texas Medical Board Customer Service Department at (512) 305-7030 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Central Time.

If you have been previously fingerprinted for another license or by another agency, we apologize for the inconvenience; however you will still be required to submit the fingerprint criminal history background to the TMB. Per Title 28, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Section 50.12, FBI fingerprinting reports are only allowed to be used for the purposes requested. Therefore, we are not able to access fingerprint results that were submitted to another agency (other states licenses, CHL permits, other background checks, etc.). Applicants or Texas licensees looking to renew their licensure must use the TMB Service Code and their Board issued 6-digit ID# on the IdentoGo website in order for our agency to receive your DPS/FBI consolidated report.  If you used any other service code other than the one assigned to the TMB, those results cannot be disclosed to our agency. Refer to the instructions provided to you by either the Licensure or Registrations Department.

No. Multiple methods of submission will delay the fingerprinting process, as the fee paid to IdentoGo allows for either a live scan or a mailed submission of fingerprint cards. An applicant or Texas licensee should complete their fingerprints by arranging an appointment at an approved IdentoGo location or mail to Identogo one completed fingerprint card with the completed IdentoGo confirmation document containing a bar code. If fingerprints are submitted using multiple methods or if an applicant completes their fingerprints at a different IdentoGo location than the one they set up their appointment with, the applicant will be responsible for contacting IdentoGo directly to identify the correct submission method. TMB does not have access to the IdentoGo system and is not able to amend or verify an applicant’s submission method.  Applicants should not mail fingerprint cards to the TMB.

Information on licensure requirements is available under Board Rules Section Chapter 183, Section 183.4 Procedural Rules for Licensure Applicants. The following is paraphrased from that rule. We encourage you to read the entire rule.     

• Submit an application online for licensure and pay the $305 application fee.     
• Complete 60 hours of college hours in addition to acupuncture training     
• Complete 1,800 hours of Acupuncture training from an accredited acupuncture school.    
• 450 hours of the required 1,800 hours of training must be in herbal training.     
• Graduation from an accredited acupuncture school.     
• Take and pass the full NCCAOM examination     
• Take and pass the CCAOM Clean Needle Technique Course and Practical Examination.     
• Take and pass the jurisprudence examination     
• Prove English Proficiency. 

Yes. Prior to and each and every time a physician or advanced practice professional (such as a physician assistant or advanced practice registered nurse acting under a physician’s delegated authority) prescribes opioids, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, or carisoprodol, the patient’s prescribing history must be reviewed by the physician or advanced practice professional issuing the prescription.  For providers seeking information on how to access the PMP, please review Pharmacy Board PMP information at https://www.pharmacy.texas.gov/pmp/.

AOMA Graduate School of Integrative Medicine https://www.aoma.edu 4701 West Gate Blvd Austin, Texas 78745 Phone: (512) 492-3017 Fax: (512) 454-7001 American College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine http://www.acaom.edu/ 9100 Park West Drive Houston, Texas 77063 Phone: (713) 780-9777 Texas Health and Science University (formerly Texas College of Traditional Chinese Medicine) http://www.thsu.edu/ 4005 Manchaca Road, Suite 200 Austin, Texas 78704 Phone: (512) 448-9999 Fax: (512) 444-6345

Not at this time.  If you are a Podiatric Medical Assistant who completed an alternate 20 hour radiology training course, you will need to be registered with Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) as a Podiatric Medical Radiological Technician.

Information is available on the TDLR website.

The NCT permit is no longer available.  In the 2017 legislative session, SB 674 changed the law so that the Texas Medical Board is no longer required to register NCTs who work for physicians.  What remains is the requirement that NCTs obtain placement on the MRT Board’s general registry, or have an approved a hardship exemption, prior to starting practice.

NCCPA Certification is required for initial licensure in Texas but not for renewal of an active Texas Physician Assistant License.

No. Texas law requires graduation from an accredited PA program for eligibility.

Texas requires physicians to professionally use the name under which they are licensed by the Texas Medical Board. Using any other name may confuse or mislead the public and could be considered by the Board to be unprofessional conduct. A physician who wishes to change his or her professional name must use the Application for Name Change.