Subject of Possible Rule Making: Osteopathic physician exam requirements in WAC 246-853-020. The board of osteopathic medicine and surgery (board) is considering amendments to update the examination requirements for licensure of osteopathic physicians.

Statutes Authorizing the Agency to Adopt Rules on this Subject: RCW 18.57.005, 18.130.050, and 18.340.020; 2SHB 1724 (chapter 425, Laws of 2023).

Reasons Why Rules on this Subject may be Needed and What They Might Accomplish: 2SHB 1724 requires regulatory authorities to review licensure standards for health professionals in other states to determine substantial equivalency to Washington licensure standards in order to streamline and expedite credentialing processes. In response to this requirement, and to reduce potentially unnecessary licensure barriers, the board is considering amendments to the osteopathic physician examination requirements.

Interested parties can participate in the decision to adopt the new rule and formulation of the proposed rule before publication by contacting Becky McElhiney, P.O. Box 47852, Olympia, WA 98504-7852, phone 360-236-4766, fax 360-236-2901, TTY 711, email osteopathic@doh.wa.gov, website www.doh.wa.gov/osteo.

Additional comments: Interested parties can participate in the drafting of the proposed rules. The board will be conducting rules workshops with interested parties and subject matter experts. The board will use existing GovDelivery lists and other known contact information to inform interested parties of opportunities to provide input on proposed rule language. To find out more information about our rule making, visit www.doh.wa.gov. To subscribe to GovDelivery, please visit https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/WADOH/subscriber/new?topic_id=WADOH_153 and select "Osteopathic Board."