Licensing boards shouldn’t leave Iowans in the dark

Iowans are being left in the dark by state licensure boards that no longer release information as to why doctors, nurses, therapists and other licensed professionals face disciplinary charges.

Clearly, Iowans should know why, for instance, a doctor faces disciplinary allegations and receives punishment. That information is being kept confidential, even within the text of final orders. But according to reporting by the Iowa Capital Dispatch’s Clark Kauffman. Some boards are redacting information detailing alleged misconduct, ethical lapses, patient abuse and criminal convictions.

Board actions mean the public may never know exactly why a licensed professional was disciplined. This is a major change from past practices, when boards disclosed charges under investigation and the specific allegations that led to an inquiry.

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that facts and circumstances resulting in a disciplinary investigation must be confidential until boards issue a final ruling.

Of course, when you give a bureaucrat the power to redact sensitive information, the blacked text piles up. Now, some boards have decided that facts and circumstances should remain secret even a final ruling.

Kauffman reports that efforts to obtain specific information on a nurse whose license was revoked and a chiropractor who agreed to surrender his license were fruitless. The board redacted the information in its final order.

A spokesperson for the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing, which oversees many licensing boards in the wake of government reorganization, the agency is seeking to update its process. The agency has worked on the disclosure issue with the Iowa Attorney General’s Office and the state Public Information Board.

So, lacking any solid argument for these[i] redactions, just blame the lawyers.

And it seems to us there is no good argument for keeping this sort of information confidential. Some of these licensed professionals make life and death decisions, or, at the very least, calls that affect Iowans’ health.

Iowans should have a right to know why these professionals are charged, specifically, and the rationale for board actions. The state’s argument gets even weaker when important information is redacted from final orders issued after a case is investigated.

It makes no sense. And if the Legislature still values oversight at all, lawmakers should be asking questions and taking action to allow greater transparency. Secrecy should have no place in these important procedures. Placing the desire for keeping this information confidential ahead of the people’s right to know is misguided and potentially dangerous.

(319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com