SFMMS 150th: 1876 - Regulating the Practice of Medicine February 20, 2018 150th 150th, SFMMS 0 In the 1870s, physicians across the United States pushed state legislatures to implement medical licensing. There were no laws for practicing medicine. All someone had to do was hang out a shingle or place an ad to start seeing patients. In 1874, Thomas Logan, one of the prominent members of the California State Medical Society and the secretary of the California State Board of Health, began an earnest effort to enact medical licensing in California. In 1875, Logan presented a bill, but the CSMS failed to reach a definitive decision regarding the proposal and essentially pushed it to a later date. Logan’s bill was not the only one presented that year. The San Francisco Medical Society also proposed a similar law that authorized the creation of a Board of Medical Examiners. This board would be composed of seven practicing physicians who would be responsible for evaluating diplomas and conducting a “critical examination” of all medical licensing applicants. If an applicant presented a valid diploma and passed the licensing exam, the board would confirm the identity of each applicant to ensure that they were not practicing under an assumed name. Finally, in March 1876, after a year of debate in the legislature, the California Assembly and Senate passed an act to “Regulate the Practice of Medicine in the State of California.” The new law restricted the practice of medicine to those with a medical school diploma or who could prove their medical competence through an examination. With the passage of this legislation, the San Francisco Medical Society established its commitment to the practice of ethical medicine. #SFMMS150th Comments are closed.
