By DAVID PITT Associated Press
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — State licensing boards in Iowa overseeing doctors, pharmacists and more than 30 other professionals can no longer reveal information about investigations that allege wrongdoing or improper behavior by a professional. The Iowa Supreme Court said Friday that the Iowa Board of Medicine violated an Iowa law in 2013 when it released details of a doctor’s alleged unprofessional behavior before a final determination was made. The court’s decision ends decades of public reporting of professional misconduct allegations by state licensing boards. The Iowa Freedom of Information Council is calling on the Iowa Legislature to fix the law so patients and consumers can make informed decisions about physicians or other professionals.
