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arrhythmia or cerebrovascular accident while wearing an oral device. Dr. Monday says she has great re-
spect for dentists, but TNS doesn’t plan to back down.
SCIENTIFIC MEETING:
Team Practice in Medicine
Sat. & Sun., Nov. 15-16, 2014 Hyatt Regency Downtown, Houston
Gain insight into recent medical advances
View the top selections of clinical and research poster entries
Analyze the newest evidence-based treatment and management of common medical problems facing internists
Network with Texas chapter members and meet friends and former colleagues
ABIM Learning Sessions
Members and nonmembers are welcome to attend.
For information, visit
www.txacp.org at 512.370.1508.
The nation’s highest court will decide whether the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) can trump rules set by state li- censure boards to protect public safety. The Supreme Court of the United States announced it will hear oral arguments in North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners v. Federal Trade Commission on Oct. 8.
The question before the court is whether the North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners (NCBDE) is subject to antitrust laws as a private entity or exempt as an entity working under the supervision of the state. The court’s ultimate decision could affect medical boards across the nation.
The dispute originated in 2010, when the FTC ruled NCBDE improperly re- strained competition by deciding non- dentists, who often charged less money than licensed dentists, could no longer provide teeth-whitening services. NCBDE argued it made the rule against nondentists to keep unqualified persons from practicing dentistry. The board filed a formal complaint against the FTC in February 2011, arguing it
30 TEXAS MEDICINE September 2014
Supreme Court to hear N.C. dental board case
2014 ANNUAL
“The TNS plans on pursuing this vio- lation of the Medical Practice Act as we pursued the chiropractors who wanted to do needle electromyography [EMG] — in the judicial system,” she said. In 2012, TMA, TNS, and TMB took TBCE to court to invalidate the board’s adoption of rules that would have al- lowed chiropractors to perform EMG. An appellate court ruled in favor of TMA, saying TBCE exceeded its authority in adopting the rules. For more informa- tion on TMA’s lawsuit against TBCE, visit
www.texmed.org/whac.
was exempt from antitrust laws under the state action doctrine, which immu- nizes anticompetitive acts authorized by the states from federal antitrust liability. A U.S. District Court dismissed the case in favor of the FTC in 2011. NCBDE appealed to the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which affirmed the U.S. Dis- trict Court’s decision. The Texas Medical Association is a founding member of the Litigation Cen- ter of the American Medical Association, which filed a 2012 brief in the Fourth Circuit Court in support of NCBDE, say- ing the authority to regulate the practice of medicine should be left to state medi- cal boards.
The AMA Litigation Center, state medical societies, and other medical groups urged the Supreme Court to con- sider the case in a petition filed last year. The petition stated, “The public is best served when state regulatory boards … are free to make decisions on public health issues without fear of second- guessing under the federal antitrust laws.”
AMA and other petitioners expressed concern over the case’s effect on medical boards, since the FTC could use federal antitrust laws to interfere with the state boards’ actions on issues related to scope of practice. To read the initial complaint, the judgment from the U.S. Fourth Cir- cuit Court of Appeals, and other docu- ments in the case, visit
http://1.usa .gov/1p1zKAL. To read more about the FTC’s efforts to oversee state licensing boards, see “Doctors Targeted” in the August 2012 issue of Texas Medi- cine, pages 18–23, or visit www
.texmed.org/DoctorsTargeted.
Kara Nuzback is a reporter for Texas Medicine. You can reach her by telephone at (800) 880-1300, ext. 1393, or (512) 370-1393; by fax at (512) 370-1629; or by email at
kara.nuzback@
texmed.org.
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