COUNTYWIDE : Governor Names 3 Doctors to Panel

Gov. George Deukmejian on Monday appointed three Orange County doctors--all Republicans--to a key state committee that reviews disciplinary actions against local physicians.

The lame-duck governor reappointed Fullerton surgeon Maurice F. Mulville, 88, as well as Anaheim pediatrician B. William Sonnenberg, 70, to serve on the Medical Board of California’s 13th District Medical Quality Review Committee. Both Mulville and Sonnenberg’s terms expire Sept. 1, 1994.

Deukmejian also named named neurologist Stuart H. Mann, 57, of Huntington Beach, to a term that expires Sept. 1, 1992.

The three are among 240 doctors, other health workers and laymen around the state who hear complaints of negligence and unprofessional conduct against California physicians.

In the medical board’s 13th District, which covers Orange County, the review committee has 15 members--nine doctors, three other health professionals and three public representatives.

Under California’s administrative system for disciplining doctors, the committee is supposed to act much like a jury in a criminal or civil case. A five-member panel picked from each district listens while lawyers present complaints against a doctor before an administrative law judge. The panel then proposes penalties and, later, a seven-member committee of the medical board formally adopts or rejects the committee’s recommendations.

In practice, however, many hearings “end up just being heard by an administrative law judge,” without the review panel present, said Felix Rodriguez, director of the medical board’s Santa Ana office, because repeated continuances and scheduling conflicts make their attendance difficult.

In addition to hearing complaints, committee members “are the eyes and the ears of the Medical Board out there in the community,” said Ron Kramer, the board’s assistant deputy in charge of enforcement. Kramer said review committee members often bring issues concerning medical practice directly to the medical board.

Mulville has served on the Medical Quality Review Committee since 1987. Mulville, who is semi-retired, has maintained a surgical practice in Fullerton since 1955. Sonnenberg has had his own pediatric practice in Anaheim since 1958. Mann has been neurologist/president of the South Coast Neurological Medical Group Inc. since 1962. As committee members, each will earn $100 per meeting plus expenses.