Disclaimers

General

The following information contained in this database is provided from the records of the Board of Medicine.

Licensee name
License number
Date of issue
Date of expiration
Any Virginia Board of Medicine Notice or Order

The Department and the Board have taken measures to assure that the above information reflects information contained in records that it maintains consistent with its statutory responsibility to doctors of medicine, osteopathy, and podiatry.

The following information is required to be self-reported by licensees under penalty of law. This information is not verified by the Board. The Department and the Board have the authority to investigate reported inaccuracies in the displayed information and if warranted, seek correction and effect licensee compliance with the law and regulations governing the practitioner information system.

Required information provided by doctors:

Practice information (location(s), telephone number(s), translating services, percentage of time spent at location(s)
Education
Years in active clinical practice
Board Certifications
Hospital affiliations
Academic appointments
Publications
Medicaid participation
Actions
Felony convictions
Paid claims in the most recent ten years

Optional information doctors may choose to include:

Insurance plans accepted or managed care plans in which they participate
Self-Designated practice area
Honors and awards received
Medicare information
Hours of continuing education
Practice name
Days of the week at practice location
Maiden name
Web site address
Non-emergency email address

The Board does not comprehensively verify the information required to be self-reported by doctors, and therefore does not accept responsibility for the accuracy of self-reported information. The Board conducts periodic random audits of profiles as an effort to improve the accuracy and timeliness of the information.

Please note that if a practitioner's license is not active, they are under no obligation to update their profile so the information contained in that profile may not be up-to-date.

Links to Other Sites

The Department of Health Professions (DHP) Web site has links to other Web sites. These include links to Web sites operated by other government agencies, nonprofit organizations and private businesses. When you link to another site, you are no longer on the DHP Web site and this Privacy Policy will not apply. When you link to another Web site, you are subject to the privacy policy of that new site.

Neither DHP, nor any employee of the Department warrants the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of any information published by this system, nor endorses any content, viewpoints, products or services linked from this system, and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability,timeliness or usefulness of such information. Portions of such information may be incorrect or outdated. Any person or entity that relies on any information obtained from this system does so at their own risk.

Malpractice Paid Claims

When considering malpractice paid claims data, please keep in mind:

Some studies have shown little correlation between the existence of a malpractice paid claims history and the practitioner's competence to provide care.

Malpractice paid claims histories tend to vary by specialty. Some specialties are more likely than others to be the subject of litigation.

Some doctors work primarily with high-risk patients. These doctors may have malpractice paid claims histories that are higher than average because they specialize in cases or patients who are at very high risk for problems.

Settlement of a claim may occur for a variety of reasons, which do not necessarily reflect negatively on the professional competence or conduct of the practitioner. A payment in settlement of a medical malpractice action or claim should not be construed as creating a presumption that medical malpractice has occurred.

The incident causing the malpractice paid claim may have happened years before a payment is finally made. Sometimes, it takes a long time for a malpractice lawsuit to move through the legal system.

Presentation of Required Data:

As of July 1, 2007, practitioners are required to report all paid claims over $10,000 in the last 10 years. For doctors practicing less than 10 years, the data covers their total years of practice.

To provide perspective regarding the reported data, the Board displays information about the paid claims experience of the practitioner's specialty along with the practitioner's history of paid claims. In reporting the data in this manner, each practitioner is seen relative to other practitioners in the specialty, rather than to all practitioners in all specialties.

Paid claims are not expressed in dollar amounts. Each paid claim has been analyzed and assigned to one of three statistical categories: below average, average, or above average. This analysis was made relative to the other claims in the specialty in which the claim occurred.

The information provided, in the manner provided, should offer perspective about this aspect of medical practice. You could miss an opportunity for high quality care by excluding a doctor based solely on the presence of a malpractice history. You may wish to discuss information provided in this report, and malpractice generally, with your doctor.