§ 54-1803 — DEFINITIONS

Idaho § 54-1803

• Jurisdiction: Idaho
• Title 54: PROFESSIONS, VOCATIONS, AND BUSINESSES
• Ch. 18: PHYSICIANS AND PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS

Text

As used in this chapter:
(1) "Practice of medicine" means:
(a) The investigation, diagnosis, treatment, correction, or prevention of or prescription for any human disease, ailment, injury, infirmity, deformity or other condition, physical or mental, by any means or instrumentality that involves the application of principles or techniques of medical science; or
(b) Offering, undertaking, or holding oneself out as able to do any of the acts described in paragraph (a) of this subsection.
(2) "Board" means the state board of medicine.
(3) "Physician" means any person who holds a license to practice medicine and surgery, osteopathic medicine and surgery, or osteopathic medicine, provided that others authorized by law to practice any of the healing arts shall not be considered physicians for the purposes of this chapter.
(4) "Supervising physician" means a physician who is responsible for the direction and supervision of the activities of and patient services provided by licensed or unlicensed medical personnel.
(5) "License to practice medicine" means a license issued by the board to a person who has graduated from an acceptable school of medicine and who has fulfilled the licensing requirements of this chapter.
(6) "License to practice osteopathic medicine" means a license issued by the board to a person who either graduated from an acceptable osteopathic school of medicine subsequent to January 1, 1963, or who has been licensed by endorsement of a license to practice osteopathic medicine issued by another state and who has fulfilled the licensing requirements of this chapter.
(7) "Acceptable school of medicine" means any school of medicine or school of osteopathic medicine that meets the standards or requirements of a national medical school accrediting organization acceptable to the board.
(8) "Intern" or "resident" means any person who has completed a course of study at an acceptable school of medicine and who is enrolled in a postgraduate medical training program.
(9) "Physician assistant" means any person who is a graduate of an acceptable physician assistant training program, who is qualified by specialized education, training, and experience, and who has been licensed by the board to render patient services.
(10) "Graduate physician assistant" means a person who is a graduate of an approved program for the education and training of physician assistants and who meets all of the requirements in this chapter for licensure, but who:
(a) Has not yet taken and passed the certification examination but has been authorized by the board to render patient services under the direction of a supervising physician for a period of six (6) months; or
(b) Has passed the certification examination but who has not yet obtained a college baccalaureate degree and who has been authorized by the board to render patient services under the direction of a supervising physician for a period of not more than five (5) years.
(11) "International medical program" means any medical school, residency program, medical internship program, or entity that provides physicians with a medical education or training outside of the United States or Canada that is substantially similar to the medical education or training required to practice as a physician in Idaho and has been evaluated and certified by the educational commission for foreign medical graduates.
(12) "International physician" means any individual who:
(a) Was not a legal resident of the United States or Canada when they attended and matriculated from an international medical program;
(b) Has been granted a medical doctorate or substantially similar degree by an international medical program of good standing;
(c) Has completed a residency or post-graduate medical training;
(d) Has practiced medicine as a physician in good standing with the regulatory institution in such individual’s home country for at least three (3) years after the completion of post-graduate medical training or completed at least five hundred (500) hours of clinical experience under direct physician supervision in a clinical setting in the United States;
(e) Has practiced medicine within the last five (5) years or has a waiver from the board; and
(f) Possesses basic fluency in the English language as demonstrated by a passing score on the occupational English test for medicine or other equivalent exam approved by the board.
(13) "Sponsoring entity" means an entity, corporation, or organization, whether for profit or nonprofit, that furnishes, bills, or is paid for health care procedures or service delivery in the normal course of business, and includes but is not limited to health systems, hospitals, freestanding emergency departments, independent physician practices, primary care clinics, and urgent care clinics.

Legislative History

[54-1803, added 1977, ch. 199, sec. 4, p. 537; am. 1998, ch. 177, sec. 1, p. 659; am. 2010, ch. 89, sec. 1, p. 170; am. 2019, ch. 26, sec. 3, p. 53; am. 2022, ch. 246, sec. 15, p. 798; am. 2023, ch. 12, sec. 1, p. 48; am. 2024, ch. 216, sec. 2, p. 767.]