Report 2016-046 Recommendation 10 Responses
Report 2016-046: Board of Registered Nursing: Significant Delays and Inadequate Oversight of the Complaint Resolution Process Have Allowed Some Nurses Who May Pose a Risk to Patient Safety to Continue Practicing (Release Date: December 2016)
Recommendation #10 To: Registered Nursing, Board of
To increase its pool of expert witnesses, by June 2017, BRN should take the steps necessary to increase the hourly wage it pays expert witnesses.
Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2023
The BRN continues to be successful in recruiting Expert Practice Consultants (EPCs) and does not need to seek an increase in the hourly wage it pays expert witnesses at this time. In the future, should the expert pool not be sufficient to meet the needs of the Board then the BRN will take the necessary steps to increase the hourly wage of the EPCs.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Will Not Implement
Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2022
The Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) continues to be successful in recruiting Expert Practice Consultants (EPC) and does not need to seek an increase in the hourly wage it pays expert witnesses at this time. In the future, should the expert pool not be sufficient to meet the needs of the Board then the BRN will take the necessary steps to increase the hourly wage of the EPCs.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Will Not Implement
Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From November 2019
The BRN has been extremely successful in recruiting Expert Practice Consultants in all areas and does not need to seek an increase in the hourly wage it pays expert witnesses at this time. In the future, should the expert pool not be sufficient to meet the needs of the Board then the BRN will take the necessary steps to increase the hourly wage of the EPCs.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Will Not Implement
Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2018
The BRN has been extremely successful in recruiting expert witnesses in all areas and does not need to seek an increase in the hourly wage it pays expert witnesses at this time. In the future, should the expert pool not be sufficient to meet the needs of the Board then the BRN will take the necessary steps to increase the hourly wage of the expert witnesses.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Will Not Implement
1-Year Agency Response
The BRN has contacted three other healing arts boards, Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians, Medical Board of California and Board of Psychology, to determine an average Expert Practice Consultant wage to be paid per hour.
On January 6, 2017, BRN completed a report of expert hours by profession in order to project the overall impact to the BRN budget.
The BRN would like to increase the expert fee to $100 for RNs, $125 for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN), $150 for psychologists and $200 for Psychiatrists, effective July 1, 2018.
The Board is actively working to identify resources to allow it to implement these increased costs.
The BRN will gather additional data to support the expert practice consultant wage increase.
- Estimated Completion Date: Unknown
- Response Date: June 2018
California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Pending
6-Month Agency Response
The BRN has contacted three other healing arts boards, Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians, Medical Board of California and Board of Psychology, to determine an average Expert Practice Consultant wage to be paid per hour.
On January 6, 2017, BRN completed a report of expert hours by profession in order to project the overall impact to the BRN budget.
The BRN would like to increase the expert fee to $100 for RNs, $125 for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN), $150 for psychologists and $200 for Psychiatrists, effective July 1, 2018. The Board is actively working to identify resources to allow it to implement these increased costs.
- Estimated Completion Date: July 2018
- Response Date: June 2017
California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending
60-Day Agency Response
BRN has benchmarked the hourly rate for expert witnesses of three other healing arts boards (e.g. BVNPT, MBC and Psychology) to determine an average hourly wage.
BRN staff proposes raising the rate for all expert witnesses to include the following: $75 to $100 per hour for RNs, $125 to $150 for psychologists, and $175 to $200 per hour for psychiatrists. A proposal will be submitted in or about April 2017 in accordance with the budget cycle.
- Estimated Completion Date: June 2017
- Response Date: February 2017
California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending
All Recommendations in 2016-046
Agency responses received are posted verbatim.