00:00:09:07 - 00:00:11:29 Are you ready to become a more informed patient? 00:00:12:21 - 00:00:19:11 It only takes a few minutes on the North Carolina Medical Board’s website. Use our search tool to look up any physician or PA licensed in the state. 00:00:20:16 - 00:00:24:10 First, go to www.ncmedboard.org 00:00:25:15 - 00:00:27:16 and click on the blue “Look up a doctor or PA” button. 00:00:27:16 - 00:00:31:15 You’ll find it about halfway down the page on the right-hand side of the screen. 00:00:32:27 - 00:00:35:27 Next, you’ll need to enter search terms to find a licensed provider. 00:00:36:27 - 00:00:44:18 Entering the last name of the doctor or PA usually yields the best results. It is not necessary to enter information in all search fields. 00:00:45:06 - 00:00:54:05 If you are not looking for a specific physician or PA, you may search by city, county, license type or area of practice to generate a list of providers. 00:00:55:19 - 00:00:58:26 Once you have entered search terms, just click on the “Search” button. 00:00:59:14 - 00:01:06:01 You should see a list of names. Click on the individual you want to see to open that provider’s personal information page. 00:01:06:27 - 00:01:11:06 North Carolina offers one of the nation’s most comprehensive licensee profile pages. 00:01:12:01 - 00:01:16:25 We collect and report five different types of adverse information. 00:01:16:25 - 00:01:27:17 This includes North Carolina disciplinary actions, criminal convictions, certain malpractice payment information, hospital actions and regulatory actions outside of North Carolina. 00:01:28:20 - 00:01:39:02 All pages include information such as the address of the practice where the provider sees patients, information on where they went to medical or PA school, and what areas of medicine they currently practice. 00:01:40:26 - 00:01:45:19 One of the first things to check is whether the provider has a current North Carolina license. 00:01:46:04 - 00:01:49:24 Someone with a valid license will be listed as “active”. 00:01:50:00 - 00:01:53:01 An inactive provider is not authorized to provide patient care. 00:01:54:11 - 00:01:58:18 Next, you’ll want to know whether the doctor or PA has a regulatory history. 00:01:58:28 - 00:02:01:28 About 97 percent of licensees do not... 00:02:02:05 - 00:02:06:23 ...so if you see regulatory actions it’s something you’ll want to look at more closely. 00:02:06:23 - 00:02:15:16 If NCMB has taken action against a provider, it will be clearly noted at the top right of the page in red, indicating “Public Action: Yes.” 00:02:16:04 - 00:02:23:15 Click on the tab marked “Actions – Adverse & Administrative” to see available public documents, including any past history of discipline. 00:02:24:09 - 00:02:33:28 If the provider has convictions, a history of malpractice payments or has lost hospital privileges in the past, this information will be listed under the appropriate tabs. 00:02:35:04 - 00:02:40:08 NCMB recommends checking the licensee information page before visiting any new provider. 00:02:40:27 - 00:02:45:17 It’s also a good idea to periodically check the pages of your existing providers, just to see if anything has changed. 00:02:47:03 - 00:02:59:07 If you have questions about anything mentioned in this video, or about information you find on a licensee information page, you can contact the Board 1-800-253-9653 and ask to speak to a member of the Communications Department. 00:03:02:04 - 00:03:06:16 Or, send an email inquiry to info@ncmedboard.org.