Oregon Close to Requiring Licensure
According to the June 30, 2009 issue of the
Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography's newsletter Newswave, the Oregon Legislature has passed sonographer licensure legislation. The bill
(HB 2245), which addresses licensure for a variety of medical professions including occupational therapy, MRI and sonography, has now been sent to Oregon's Governor who has up to 30 days to sign or veto the bill. If Governor Ted Kulongoski signs the bill it would make his state the second in the nation to require sonographer licensure.
The bill will require sonographers working in Oregon to become licensed by the newly reorganized Oregon Board of Medical Imaging (OBMI) effective July 1, 2010. Beginning January 1, 2014, all sonography licensees would be required to hold a national sonography credential or be enrolled as a student in a sonography program.
Registered sonographers should welcome these new laws and encourage similar legislation in their states. Licensure laws combined with tighter restrictions on the use of keepsake obstetrical scanning could prove beneficial for both the profession as well as our patients.