MedBoard Matters

Complaints involving delays and licensee refusals to sign death certificates have risen significantly in recent years. In this episode, we examine common reasons licensees decline to certify deaths, clarify legal and professional responsibilities, and discuss factors that can contribute to delays in the certification process.

Click here to view the resources mentioned in this episode.

Host: Jean Fisher Brinkley, Communications Director, North Carolina Medical Board
Guest: John Goldfield, PA-C, Assistant Medical Director, North Carolina Medical Board
Producer: Sylvia French-Hodges, Communications Specialist, North Carolina Medical Board

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Email your questions to: podcast@ncmedboard.org.

In this episode, host Jean Fisher Brinkley talks with Brian Blankenship, JD, Chief Legal Officer and Legislative Liaison for the Board, about an important update to physician and physician assistant licensing fees. No one likes hearing that fees are increasing, and we understand that. So rather than simply announcing the change, we wanted to explain how it was decided that the increase is warranted and what these fees support.

View some of the resources mentioned in this episode here.

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Email your questions to: podcast@ncmedboard.org.

NCMB’s complaint process is one of the most important aspects of the Board’s work—but it’s also one of the least understood. With more than 3,000 complaints cases opened each year, every concern is reviewed carefully and taken seriously. In this episode, host Jean Fisher Brinkley talks with Carren Mackiewicz, Director of NCMB’s Administrative Investigations Legal Department, about how the complaint process works, what kinds of issues NCMB can and can’t address, and what factors determine whether a complaint leads to regulatory action. Buckle up because this episode of MedBoard Matters is packed with important and useful information!

Resources discussed in the podcast episode:

Watch our complaint video

Learn more about filing a complaint

Complaint FAQs

View the complaint checklist

Go to the consumer complaint page

Host: Jean Fisher Brinkley, Communications Director, North Carolina Medical Board
Guest: Carren Mackiewicz, Director of Administrative Investigations Legal Department, North Carolina Medical Board
Producer: Sylvia French-Hodges, Communications Specialist, North Carolina Medical Board

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Email your questions to: podcast@ncmedboard.org.

Determining if care was safe and appropriate is the key thing NCMB has to do when patients complain about the quality of medical care. But what is the Board really looking at when it does this? Host Jean Fisher Brinkley is joined by Deputy General Counsel for the Board, Patrick Balestrieri who outlines the processes the Board uses when it must decide on whether the care rendered in a case it is considering was within accepted standards of care.

View some of the resources mentioned in this episode here.

Host: Jean Fisher Brinkley, Communications Director, North Carolina Medical Board
Guest: Patrick Balestrieri, Deputy General Counsel, North Carolina Medical Board
Producer: Sylvia French-Hodges, Communications Specialist, North Carolina Medical Board

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Email your questions to: podcast@ncmedboard.org.

In this episode of MedBoard Matters, host Jean Fisher Brinkley gives us her take on the Board's top five consumer resources and how each one works towards building a more informed public.

Some of the resources mentioned in this episode include:

• Smart Patient Toolkit
• Multi-media options
• Look up a doctor or PA tool
• Physical Exam Series
• Complaint process

Host: Jean Fisher Brinkley, Communications Director, North Carolina Medical Board
Producer: Sylvia French-Hodges, Communications Specialist, North Carolina Medical Board

Follow the North Carolina Medical Board on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.

Email your questions to: podcast@ncmedboard.org.

This podcast episode is all about the corporate practice of medicine. If you aren’t sure what that is, don’t worry. We are going to tell you. And while the corporate practice of medicine may sound complicated, it’s actually based on a simple idea – that medical practices should place patient welfare above profit.

Click here to view the resources mentioned in the episode.

Host: Jean Fisher Brinkley, Communications Director, North Carolina Medical Board
Guest: Marcus Jimison, Deputy General Counsel, North Carolina Medical Board
Producer: Sylvia French-Hodges, Communications Specialist, North Carolina Medical Board

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Email your questions to: podcast@ncmedboard.org.

The North Carolina Medical Board is committed to providing our licensees with tools that will help them be successful in their practice. In this episode, we talk with Todd Brosius, one of the Board's Deputy General Counsel about the Board's position statements, how they are developed, and how our licensees can use them as guidance for avoiding Board discipline. Learn more here.

Host: Jean Fisher Brinkley, Communications Director, North Carolina Medical Board
Guest: Todd Brosius, Deputy General Counsel, North Carolina Medical Board
Producer: Sylvia French-Hodges, Communications Specialist, North Carolina Medical Board

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Email your questions to: podcast@ncmedboard.org.

Have you ever listened intently at a medical appointment just to leave with only a vague idea of what is going on with your health, let alone what you should do about it? In fact, studies suggest that as many as 9 out of 10 patients have trouble understanding medical information at some point in their lives. On this episode of MedBoard Matters we are discussing health literacy and how a lack of it adversely affects virtually all patients.

Click here to view the resources mentioned in the episode.

Host: Jean Fisher Brinkley, Communications Director, North Carolina Medical Board
Guest: Sharona Y. Johnson, PhD, FNP-BC, North Carolina Medical Board Member
Producer: Sylvia French-Hodges, Communications Specialist, North Carolina Medical Board

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Email your questions to: podcast@ncmedboard.org.

On this episode of the Remembering Hurricane Helene series, we meet PA Joshua Newton, who owns his own primary care practice in Spruce Pine, NC. Post-Helene, it took three days just to cut out to the end of his street. After he saw the devastation in his community, he did what made the most sense to him at the time. With patients unable to get to him, he hopped on a four-wheeler and rode out to find them.

Host: Jean Fisher Brinkley, Communications Director, North Carolina Medical Board
Guest: Joshua Newton, PA-C, The Clinic of Joshua Newton, PA-C
Producer: Sylvia French-Hodges, Communications Specialist, North Carolina Medical Board

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Email your questions to: podcast@ncmedboard.org.

On this episode of the Remembering Hurricane Helene series, we interview Dr. Benjamin Gilmer, Rural Fellowship Director and Director of Rural Health Initiatives for the Mountain Area Health Education Center in Asheville. Dr. Gilmer put his extensive global experience in serving under resourced patient populations to good use and was busy practicing out of a donated bus in a church parking lot in Swannanoa in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

Host: Jean Fisher Brinkley, Communications Director, North Carolina Medical Board
Guest: Benjamin Gilmer, MD, Rural Fellowship Director, MAHEC Family Medicine
Faculty Physician and Director of Rural Health Initiatives
Producer: Sylvia French-Hodges, Communications Specialist, North Carolina Medical Board

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Email your questions to: podcast@ncmedboard.org.

As we approach the one-year mark since Hurricane Helene, we reflect on the experiences shared by healthcare professionals who faced its impact firsthand. In this episode, we interview Dr. Julia Draper, a dedicated family medicine physician in the Asheville area. Dr. Draper vividly recounts her harrowing encounter with the storm while beginning her 7-day work rotation at Mission Hospital. Her firsthand narrative offers a profound insight into the challenges and resilience displayed during such trying times.

Host: Jean Fisher Brinkley, Communications Director, North Carolina Medical Board
Guest: Julia Draper, MD, MPH, Family Physician at MAHEC Family Health Center at Enka/Candler
Producer: Sylvia French-Hodges, Communications Specialist, North Carolina Medical Board

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Email your questions to: podcast@ncmedboard.org.

The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC) was signed into law in July of 2025 as part of North Carolina (NC) Session Law 2025-37/HB 67. By joining the IMLC, there will now be an additional pathway for licensure in North Carolina as well as a pathway for our licensees to obtain licenses in other compact member states.

In this episode, we talk with Marschall Smith, Executive Director of the IMLC Commission about the compact and what it means for licensees and for patients in and out of North Carolina.

Host: Jean Fisher Brinkley, Communications Director, North Carolina Medical Board
Guest: Marschall Smith, Executive Director of the IMLC Commission
Producer: Sylvia French-Hodges, Communications Specialist, North Carolina Medical Board

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Email your questions to: podcast@ncmedboard.org.

Reflecting on Hurricane Helene, the deadliest and costliest hurricane in North Carolina's history, recovery efforts are expected to span years. Amid the devastation, stories of resilience shine through. Karen Wallace-Meigs, Executive Director of the Western Carolina Medical Society, recounts their organization's impactful response. Through a robust philanthropic mission and diverse service programs, patients in need received vital support, including access to free medical and specialty care, along with language interpretation services post-storm and into the future.

Host: Jean Fisher Brinkley, Communications Director, North Carolina Medical Board
Guest: Karen Wallace-Meigs, Executive Director of the Western Carolina Medical Society
Producer: Sylvia French-Hodges, Communications Specialist, North Carolina Medical Board

Click here to access our show page resources and information.

Follow the North Carolina Medical Board on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.

Email your questions to: podcast@ncmedboard.org.

The North Carolina Medical Board is committed to providing our licensees with tools that will help them be successful in their practice (and hopefully avoid any regulatory issues). In this episode, we outline a centralized resource we've created to help them learn about and stay informed on a variety of Board policies and practice specific topics.

Learn more here: https://www.ncmedboard.org/quickstart

Host: Jean Fisher Brinkley, Communications Director, North Carolina Medical Board
Producer: Sylvia French-Hodges, Communications Specialist, North Carolina Medical Board

Follow the North Carolina Medical Board on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.

Email your questions to: podcast@ncmedboard.org.

With the holiday season firmly upon us, host Jean Fisher Brinkley talks with NCMB's Chief Investigative Officer, Pat Berckmiller about the worrying trend the Board has seen around this time of year and the marked increase in licensee arrests for DWI, most of which are alcohol related.

Please Note: We’ll be taking a two-month hiatus to recharge and recalibrate for the coming year, with our first episode of 2025 slated for March. Happy Holidays from the North Carolina Medical Board!

Host: Jean Fisher Brinkley, Communications Director, North Carolina Medical Board
Guest: Pat Berckmiller, Chief Investigative Officer, North Carolina Medical Board
Producer: Sylvia French-Hodges, Communications Specialist, North Carolina Medical Board

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Email your questions to: podcast@ncmedboard.org.

Hurricane Helene barreled into Western North Carolina on the morning of Friday, September 27th, leaving unprecedented levels of devastation in its wake. The storm has since been confirmed as the most damaging and deadly hurricane in North Carolina history. Host, Jean Fisher Brinkley talks with State Health Director Dr. Betsey Tilson about all of the things NC DHHS has been doing to safeguard the health and safety of people impacted by the storm.

Host: Jean Fisher Brinkley
Guest: Dr. Betsey Tilson, State Health Director and Chief Medical Officer, NC DHHS
Producer: Sylvia French-Hodges

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Email your questions to: podcast@ncmedboard.org.

It can be frustrating when medication shortages impact access to essential healthcare. Host Jean Fisher-Brinkley discusses a range of possible solutions with Jay Campbell, Executive Director at the North Carolina Board of Pharmacy. Find out what steps healthcare consumers and providers can take in such situations.

Visit our show page for resources mentioned in this episode.

Host: Jean Fisher Brinkley
Guest: Jack W. “Jay” Campbell IV, JD, RPh, Executive Director at the North Carolina Board of Pharmacy
Producer: Sylvia French-Hodges

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Email your questions to: podcast@ncmedboard.org.

Physician suicide is a longstanding issue, with doctors contemplating ending their own lives as frequently as non-physicians. However, a recent survey of North Carolina doctors indicates the problem may be more severe than previously understood. Join Jean Fisher Brinkley and Dr. Joe Jordan, CEO of the North Carolina Professionals Health Program, as they discuss the alarming findings from NCPHP's recent Suicidal Ideation Survey and explore solutions to address this critical issue.

Visit our show page for resources mentioned in this episode.

Host: Jean Fisher Brinkley
Guest: Dr. Joe Jordan, CEO of the North Carolina Professionals Health Program
Producer: Sylvia French-Hodges

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Email your questions to: podcast@ncmedboard.org.

Nearly one in three medical professionals who responded to our recent licensee survey told us they had either witnessed or been involved in a violent incident with patients in the last year. In this episode of MedBoard Matters, host, Jean Fisher Brinkley talks with Representative Timothy Reeder, MD who was the primary sponsor of a bill, now a law, called the Hospital Violence Protection Act.

Click here to access the resources mentioned in the episode.

Host: Jean Fisher Brinkley
Guest: Representative Timothy Reeder, MD
Producer: Sylvia French-Hodges

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Email your questions to: podcast@ncmedboard.org.

As the oldest continuously operating medical board in the United States and territories, NCMB just celebrated 165 years in operation. Host, Jean Fisher Brinkley is joined by current Board CEO Thom Mansfield and former CEO David Henderson as they test their knowledge of early Board history.

Host: Jean Fisher Brinkley
Guests: Thom Mansfield, JD and David Henderson, JD
Producer: Sylvia French-Hodges

Follow the North Carolina Medical Board on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.

Email your questions to: podcast@ncmedboard.org.