California Medical Board Director Resigns To Assume New State Position

Ronald Joseph, who for eight years served as executive director of the Medical Board of California, has stepped down from that position and on Wednesday began serving as chief deputy director of the Department of General Services, the Los Angeles Times reports. At the medical board, Joseph established Operation Safe Medicine -- an investigative office charged with identifying unlicensed practitioners -- and created one of the first programs in the nation to "track down" physicians who prescribe medication to patients over the Internet without first examining them, the Times reports. Joseph also has served as chief deputy director of the Department of Health Services and interim director of the Department of Consumer Affairs. The medical board is responsible for licensing and regulating the state's 115,000 doctors (Richardson, Los Angeles Times, 2/12).