SVU Continues to Monitor Oregon Licensure Bill

On Feb. 14th in Portland, OR, the Oregon Board of Radiologic Technology (OBRT) held the fourth in a series of “legislative update” sessions on a proposed state licensure bill for all medical imaging professionals in Oregon, including vascular technologists, which would be considered by the Oregon state legislature in early 2009. SVU, SDMS and other representatives of the Sonography Licensure Coalition (SLC), of which SVU is a charter member, attended the 2/14 OBRT meeting and provided some comments on the proposed bill language and the make-up of a new Oregon Board that would implement, monitor and enforce the proposed Oregon medical imaging licensure program.

Currently, no state in the U.S. requires licensure for vascular technologists/sonographers. However, licensure is a common requirement in other allied health professions such as Nuclear Medicine Technology, Physical Therapy, Respiratory Therapy, and Radiology Technology, among others.

Licensure can be defined as permission, granted by a designated authority, to act or engage in an activity. It is formalized permission to practice within a specified scope of services. Licensure often establishes professional legitimacy and sets the minimum competency standards for the field. The process is typically designed to protect a profession from encroachment on their services by another profession and to ensure persons practicing in that profession are capable of demonstrating minimum competencies and standards.

The SLC believes that any licensure of vascular technologists/sonographers should address, at a minimum, the following issues:

• Establishment of mandatory national credentialing
• Establishment of minimum educational standards
• Establishment of a new Oregon Board of Medical Imaging, to replace the OBRT, with representation from the various sonography ultrasound specialties.
• Establishment of a requirement for criminal background checks.

Representatives of the SLC will be working soon with a committee of the Oregon legislature on the new Oregon Board composition and responsibilities. The next “Legislative Update” meeting of the OBRT is set for March 17th in Portland, OR. Representatives of the SLC will be in attendance. SVU will continue to keep its members informed as to the status of the medical imaging licensure bill in Oregon.