2023 - 2024 LEGISLATURE
LRB-2228/1
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2023 SENATE BILL 143
March 23, 2023 - Introduced by Senators CABRAL-GUEVARA, ROYS and WANGGAARD,
cosponsored by Representatives MAGNAFICI, DITTRICH, MURPHY and ROZAR.
Referred to Committee on Health.
1 AN ACT to create 448.03 (3m) of the statutes; relating to: the use of certain
2 words and terms that refer to a physician.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill restricts the words and terms that may be used to designate certain
medical professionals in titles, advertising, and descriptions of services. Under
current law, no person may use or assume the title “doctor of medicine” or append to
the person's name the letters “M.D.” unless the person possesses the degree of doctor
of medicine or the person is licensed as a physician by the Medical Examining Board.
Similarly, only individuals who possess the degree of doctor of osteopathy may use
or assume the title “doctor of osteopathy” or append “D.O.” to their name.
This bill restricts persons, except licensed physicians, from using certain
words, terms, letters, or abbreviations that represent a person as a physician. Those
restrictions under the bill apply to a person's title, advertising, or description of
services, and the bill provides an extensive but not exclusive list of the words and
terms covered by the bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
3 SECTION 1. 448.03 (3m) of the statutes is created to read:
4 448.03 (3m) USE OF TERMS REPRESENTING PHYSICIANS. Except as otherwise
5 provided in this chapter, no person, except a licensed physician, may use or assume
 2023 - 2024 Legislature -2- LRB-2228/1
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SENATE BILL 143 SECTION 1
1 the following words, letters, or terms in the person's title, advertising, or description
2 of services: “physician,” “surgeon,” “osteopathic physician,” “osteopathic surgeon,"
3 “medical doctor," “anesthesiologist,” “cardiologist,” “dermatologist,”
4 “endocrinologist,” “gastroenterologist,” “gynecologist,” “hematologist,”
5 “laryngologist,” “nephrologist,” “neurologist,” “obstetrician,” “oncologist,”
6 “ophthalmologist,” “orthopedic surgeon,” “orthopedist,” “osteopath,” “otologist,”
7 “otolaryngologist,” “otorhinolaryngologist,” “pathologist,” “pediatrician,” “primary
8 care physician,” “proctologist,” “psychiatrist,” “radiologist,” “rheumatologist,”
9 “rhinologist,” “urologist,” or any other words, letters, or abbreviations, alone or in
10 combination with other titles or words, that represent that the person is a physician.
11 (END)