OMBC flags roughly 1,900 delinquent licenses; board presses staff to escalate enforcement

Licensing staff told the Osteopathic Medical Board of California on Jan. 22 that the board’s license population includes about 17,164 licensed osteopathic physicians and surgeons and that a large number of licenses were delinquent—staff and members discussed a figure cited in the meeting of roughly 1,900 delinquent accounts.

Machiko Chong, the board’s licensing program manager, reviewed application and permit totals and the status of BREEZE system updates. She reported 264 pending initial applications and recent work on fictitious name permit audits. On delinquency and renewal compliance, staff said they currently send an automated 90‑day renewal notice and a $25 delinquency fee applies; staff plan to add an additional notice two weeks after the renewal window closes and to perform targeted audits for fictitious name permits.

Board President Denise Pines pressed staff to take a harder line on licensees who continue to operate with delinquent credentials, saying, "What I wanna see is every single 1 of these people sent a citation letter, like, immediately." Staff replied they have authority to issue citations for operating with a delinquent license but that identifying active practitioners among the delinquent list requires case‑by‑case checks and more staffing to audit records. Members proposed more frequent reminders (60/30/14‑day), automated text alerts and use of analytics/AI to triage likely retirees from active practitioners.

Staff also noted some delinquencies result from retirements or moves out of state and said implementing audits and outreach will be phased in as staffing and system capabilities permit. The board directed licensing staff to pursue enhanced reminders and to report back on progress and numbers at a future meeting.