The NCMB regularly adopts new position statements and reviews and, where appropriate, revises the existing official position statements of the Board to ensure that they remain relevant. We periodically publish a summary of recent revisions to position statements to help licensees stay abreast of changes. Full positions statements may be found online in the Professional Resources section of the Board’s website.

Statement: Treatment of obesity
Date revised: May 2013
Changes: The statement is revised to add a cautionary note regarding the use of HCG in the treatment of obesity. The following has been added to the full version of the position statement:
Treatment modalities and prescription medications that have not been proven to have beneficial effects should not be used. For example, it is the Board’s position that the use of HCG for the treatment of obesity is not appropriate.

Statement: Contact with patients before prescribing
Date revised: May 2013
Changes: Revisions include the addition of consistent references to opiate vs. opioid as well as the insertion of language that included, as an exception, the prescribing of an opioid antagonist. The following selection from the position statement has been revised to include the underlined portion:
Prescribing for a patient whom the licensee has not personally examined may be suitable under certain circumstances. These may include admission orders for a newly hospitalized patient, prescribing for a patient of another licensee for whom the prescriber is taking call, continuing medication on a short-term basis for a new patient prior to the patient’s first appointment, or prescribing an opioid antagonist to someone in a position to assist a person at risk of an opiate-related overdose.

Statement: Medical Record Documentation
Date revised: May 2013
Changes: This statement was reviewed and no changes were necessary.