Consumer FAQs

The Michael Skolnik Medical Transparency Act was originally passed in 2007 and only applied to physicians.  The Act required physicians to complete online questionnaires or “profiles”.  The intent behind this law was for the consumers in Colorado to have access to information about their physicians so they could make more informed healthcare decisions.  In 2010, the Colorado legislature passed the Michael Skolnik Medical Transparency Act of 2010.  This expanded the profiling requirement to include 22 additional license types. 

 

The Healthcare Professions Profiling Program or HPPP was created to monitor the profiling requirement in Colorado.  HPPP acts under the direction of the Director of the Division of Professions and Occupations.  The Director holds the decision making authority for this requirement.  The information provided in profiles is submitted by the individual licensee, but the HPPP staff monitors whether all information is provided, processes complaints about inaccurate information and issues administrative fines to individuals found to be noncompliant with the requirement.

 

Most healthcare professions regulated by the Division of Registrations with active licenses or registrations are required to complete profiles.  This includes doctors, dentists, chiropractors, podiatrists, acupuncturists, dental hygienists, registered nurses, and optometrists.  For a complete list visit www.dora.colorado.gov/professions/hppp.

 

To look up a healthcare professional’s profile, visit our website at www.dora.colorado.gov/professions/hppp. On the left side of the page there is a button labeled “Search Healthcare Profession Profiles.” When you click on the button, you will be taken to the Healthcare Professions Profiling Program Search Form. If you know the license type of the person you are looking for, you can select that specific type, if not select “All License Types.” You can then look that person up by their name or license number. If you select a specific profession, you may have additional search options.

This could mean many things. The healthcare professional may not be required to complete their profile yet. Profiles are not required until an individual renews their license and that date could vary. Additionally, individuals with Inactive, Lapsed, Cancelled, or Expired licenses are not required to complete profiles. If you are having problems looking up a professional, contact HPPP.

Anyone can file a complaint with HPPP. If you believe some has provided inaccurate information, you can access a complaint form on the HPPP home page. From there on the left side of the page there is a button labeled “File a Complaint”. This will bring up another page explaining the complaint process. On the bottom of the page, click the link that says “Click here to View the Complaint form”. You will then be able to fill out the form and submit it to HPPP, or you can print the form and mail it to our office.

This could mean many different things. If a healthcare professional has answered yes to the question regarding disciplinary actions, there should be a link to the disciplinary document. By clicking on that link you can see the disciplinary action. If there is no document available, please contact HPPP. This also pertains to the question about restrictions or suspensions, convictions, refusal or limitation of malpractice insurance and DEA registration.

We encourage everyone to have a conversation with their healthcare professional if they have questions about the information provided in the profile.

Some of the questions in the profiles to not pertain to all license types. For instance, professions like chiropractors, physical therapists and mental health professionals cannot prescribe medications and cannot hold DEA Registrations. Those professions will not have the DEA question included in their profiles.

Licensed professionals have the option to select their home address or their business address as their address of record. If an individual has decided to use their home address, it is not viewable on the profile, but if they are practicing in the profession, they should have a location of practice listed in the first profile question.