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At its March 2023 meeting, the State Medical Board of Ohio voted to elect veteran Member, Robert “Bob” Giacalone, as its new Supervising Member.  He will replace Bruce Saferin, DPM, in that role. 

Originally appointed to the Ohio Medical Board by former Ohio Governor John Kasich, Mr. Giacalone is both an attorney and a pharmacist, who previously served on the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy.

The position of Ohio Medical Board Supervising Member holds tremendous authority, because the Supervising Member, along with the similarly elected Ohio Medical Board Secretary, jointly oversee the Board’s investigatory and enforcement process. The Board’s Secretary and Supervising Member also share significant influence over which cases proceed through the Board’s various enforcement channels.

In recent months, some Board Members have publicly expressed a desire to make the Ohio Medical Board’s investigation and enforcement process one that is shared amongst all Board Members instead of controlled by the Secretary and Supervising Member.  However, unless and until its investigation and enforcement process is formally changed by the Board, the Secretary and Supervising Member will continue to bear most of the responsibilities and yield almost all the power.

Under the current system, because of the Ohio Medical Board’s Secretary and Supervising Member heavy involvement during investigation and prosecution phases of the complaint handling process, fundamental principles of due process preclude their involvement in the Board’s public voting process that occurs during the ultimate disposition of cases. If you have questions regarding the Ohio Medical Board Rules or the Board’s administrative hearing process, please contact a Graff & McGovern, LPA attorney. Levi Tkach is available to take your call at 614-228-5800, extension 4 and at levi@grafflaw.com