§ 59-622. License required - Submission to jurisdiction of courts - Employing hospitals not regarded as practitioners.

A.  1.  Except as otherwise provided by this section, it shall be unlawful for any person to practice as an osteopathic physician and surgeon in this state, without a license to do so, issued by the State Board of Osteopathic Examiners; provided, that any license or certificate heretofore issued under the laws of this state, authorizing its holder to practice osteopathic medicine, shall remain in full force and effect.

2.  Osteopathic physicians engaged in postgraduate training beyond the internship year, also known as PGY-1, shall be licensed.

3.  Osteopathic physicians engaged in interventional pain management pursuant to the Oklahoma Interventional Pain Management and Treatment Act shall be licensed by the State Board of Osteopathic Examiners.

B.  1.  A person within or outside of this state who performs through electronic communications diagnostic or treatment services within the scope of practice of an osteopathic physician and surgeon, including but not limited to, stroke prevention and treatment, for any patient whose condition is being diagnosed or treated within this state shall be licensed in this state, pursuant to the provisions of the Oklahoma Osteopathic Medicine Act.  However, in such cases, a nonresident osteopathic physician who, while located outside this state, consults on an irregular basis with a physician who is located in this state is not required to be licensed in this state.

2.  Any osteopathic physician licensed in this state who engages in the prescription of drugs, devices, or treatments via electronic means may do so only in the context of an appropriate physician/patient relationship wherein a proper patient record is maintained including, at the minimum, a current history and physical.

3.  Any commissioned medical officer of the armed forces of the United States or medical officer of the United States Public Health Service or the Veterans Administration of the United States, in the discharge of official duties and/or within federally controlled facilities, who is fully licensed to practice osteopathic medicine and surgery in one or more jurisdictions of the United States shall not be required to be licensed in this state pursuant to the Oklahoma Osteopathic Medicine Act, unless the person already holds an osteopathic medical license in this state pursuant to the Oklahoma Osteopathic Medicine Act.  In such case, the medical officer shall be subject to the Oklahoma Osteopathic Medicine Act.

4.  A person who performs any of the functions covered by this subsection submits themselves to the jurisdiction of the courts of this state for the purposes of any cause of action resulting from the functions performed.

C.  A hospital or related institution, as such terms are defined in Section 1-701 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes, which has the principal purpose or function of providing hospital or medical care, including but not limited to any corporation, association, trust, or other organization organized and operated for such purpose, may employ one or more persons who are duly licensed to practice osteopathic medicine in this state without being regarded as itself practicing osteopathic medicine within the meaning and provisions of this section.  The employment by the hospital or related institution of any person who is duly licensed shall not, in and of itself, be considered as an act of unprofessional conduct by the person so employed.  Nothing provided herein shall eliminate, limit or restrict the liability for any act or failure to act of any hospital, any hospital's employees or persons duly licensed to practice osteopathic medicine.

Added by Laws 1921, c. 30, p. 41, § 2.  Amended by Laws 1983, c. 152, § 2, emerg. eff. May 26, 1983; Laws 1993, c. 230, § 3, eff. July 1, 1993; Laws 1996, c. 147, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 1996; Laws 2001, c. 16, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2001; Laws 2009, c. 148, § 5, eff. Nov. 1, 2009; Laws 2010, c. 67, § 3, emerg. eff. April 9, 2010.