Health Care Professionals
The State of Georgia has established various boards whose purpose is to oversee the health professions and to set and enforce standards for licensure. All complaints must be sent to the appropriate board, and not to the Georgia Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division.
The Georgia Medical Board, also known as the Composite State Board of Medical Examiners, issues licenses to members of these professions:
- Physicians
- Physician’s assistants
- Respiratory care professionals
- Perfusionists
- Acupuncturists
- Auricular (ear) detoxification specialists
While the Board cannot recommend a doctor for you or comment on the skills of any individual, its web site lists registered physicians and and gives advice on how to select one. You will find a profile and information about the status of a health care provider’s license and any public disciplinary actions. As doctors are required to have a Georgia license to practice medicine in the state, this is a way you can choose a licensed physician if you have moved to a new town or perhaps are seeking a specialist in a certain field.
Georgia law authorizes the Medical Board to handle certain specific types of complaints about doctors and regards these as strictly confidential. The Board investigates such complaints and disciplines those who are found to have violated the Medical Practice Act or other applicable laws.
The health occupations listed below are among the professions not regulated by the Medical Board, but by state licensing boards through the office of Georgia’s Secretary of State:
- Nurses
- Chiropractors
- Dentists
- Opticians
- Optometrists
- Podiatrists
- Pharmacists
- Physical therapists
- Occupational therapists
- Psychologists
- Nursing home administrators
- Emergency medical technicians
You may wish to visit the Secretary of State’s web site, which lists all of Georgia’s Professional Licensing Boards, gives information on how to contact them, and allows you to search the licensee database. If you have a complaint about a health care provider from the above list, you should direct it to the respective licensing board. The boards conduct investigations, when warranted, into possible professional misconduct and may suspend or revoke the licenses of practitioners.
The Georgia Department of Community Health's Healthcare Facility Regulation Division is responsible for inspecting, monitoring, licensing, registering and certifying a variety of long-term care and other health care programs.