Assigned to HHS FOR COMMITTEE
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Sixth Legislature, Second Regular Session
FACT SHEET FOR S.B. 1406
international medical licensees; provisional licensure
Purpose
Allows, effective January 1, 2025, the Arizona Medical Board (AMB) to grant a
provisional medical license to an international medical licensee who meets outlined criteria and
who is licensed to practice in a country other than the United States, as prescribed.
Background
An applicant for a medical license in Arizona must: 1) graduate from an approved school
of medicine or receive a medical education that the AMB deems to be of equivalent quality;
2) successfully complete an approved 12-month hospital internship, residency or clinical
fellowship program; 3) have the physical and mental capability to safely engage in the practice of
medicine; 4) have a professional record that indicates that the applicant has not committed any act
that would constitute grounds for disciplinary action; 5) not have surrendered a license, currently
be under investigation, suspension or restriction or have had a medical license revoked by a
medical regulatory board in another jurisdiction that constitutes unprofessional conduct; 6) pay all
AMB-required fees; 7) complete an AMB-prescribed training unit; 8) submit a five-year medical
employment history including verification of licensure from every state in which the applicant has
ever held a medical license; and 9) submit a full set of fingerprints to the AMB for a state and
federal criminal records check (A.R.S. § 32-1422). An applicant for a medical license in Arizona
who has graduated from an unapproved school of medicine must meet additional outlined
requirements (A.R.S. § 32-1423).
The primary duty of the AMB is to protect the public from unlawful, incompetent,
unqualified, impaired or unprofessional practitioners of allopathic medicine through licensure,
regulation and rehabilitation of the profession in Arizona. The powers and duties of the AMB
include: 1) initiating investigations and determining whether a doctor has engaged in unprofessional
conduct, provided incompetent medical care or is mentally or physically unable to engage in the
practice of medicine; 2) reviewing the credentials and abilities of applicants whose professional
records or physical or mental capabilities do not meet licensure requirements; 3) developing and
recommending standards governing the profession; 4) engaging in a full exchange of information
with licensing boards, disciplinary boards and medical associations of other states, foreign countries
and the Arizona Medical Association; 5) adopting rules for licensure and regulation of doctors of
medicine; and 6) establishing fees and penalties (A.R.S. § 32-1403).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this
legislation.
FACT SHEET
S.B. 1406
Page 2
Provisions
International Medical Licensee Provisional Licensure
1. Allows the AMB to grant a provisional license only to an international medical licensee:
a) who has an offer for employment as a physician at any health care provider that operates
in a medically underserved area, as designated by the Arizona Department of Health
Services;
b) whose federal immigration status allows the person to work as a physician in the US; and
c) who meets the statutory requirements for medicine and surgery licensure and if applicable,
the additional requirements for students graduating from an unapproved allopathic school
of medicine.
2. States that the AMB is not required to license an international medical licensee who does not
provide:
a) evidence of substantially similar medical training as required by Arizona law;
b) evidence of satisfactory passage of exams;
c) a complete license application; and
d) payment of all required licensing fees.
3. Allows the AMB to require an applicant international medical licensee to submit:
a) any necessary supporting application materials so that the AMB may properly evaluate the
applicant for licensure; and
b) at the applicant's expense, medical education information through the Educational
Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates or another third-party records service.
4. Allows the AMB to establish licensing and renewal fees for provisional licenses.
5. Requires a provisional licensee to comply with continuing education requirements, as outlined,
and to renew the provisional license annually.
6. Requires the international medical licensee's employer to notify the AMB if the licensee is
terminated or leaves employment for any reason.
7. Requires the AMB, within five days of notification of the licensee's termination or departure
from employment, to terminate the licensee's provisional license unless the licensee notifies
the AMB that the licensee is working for another employer in an area that is designated as
medically underserved.
8. Allows the AMB to discipline an international medical licensee or revoke a provisional license
based on clear and compelling evidence, after conducting a disciplinary action investigation.
9. Allows, within 120 days of the revocation of a provisional license, a licensee to appeal the
decision to the Maricopa County Superior Court.
10. Requires the Maricopa County Superior Court to reinstate a revoked provisional license if the
court finds that the AMB's actions did not meet the prescribed standards. FACT SHEET
S.B. 1406
Page 3
11. Requires a provisional license to automatically be converted into a full medical license after
four years if the licensee meets both of the following:
a) engages in the practice of medicine in Arizona for four years in an area that is designated
as medically underserved; and
b) is not disciplined by the board during the four-year period of the provisional license.
Miscellaneous
12. Defines international medical licensee as an individual who:
a) has been granted a medical doctorate or a substantially similar degree by an international
medical program of good standing;
b) has completed a residency or substantially similar postgraduate medical training in the
country where the individual was granted a medical doctorate or a substantially similar
degree as prescribed;
c) possesses basic fluency in the English language;
d) has been licensed to practice medicine within the preceding five years in at least one of the
following countries:
i. Australia;
ii. Hong Kong;
iii. Ireland;
iv. Israel;
v. New Zealand;
vi. Singapore;
vii. South Africa;
viii. Switzerland;
ix. the United Kingdom;
x. Canada; or
xi. any additional countries added by the AMB; and
e) has practiced medicine in the licensing country for at least five years after completing the
postgraduate training as outlined.
13. Defines international medical program as any medical school, residency program, medical
internship program or entity that provides physicians with a medical education or training
outside of the U.S. that is substantially similar to that required to practice as a physician in
Arizona.
14. Defines terms.
15. Becomes effective on January 1, 2025.
Prepared by Senate Research
February 2, 2024
MM/KS/slp