On Trial.

Defense attorneys who represent physicians at the Texas Medical Board's (TMB's) informal settlement conferences (ISCs) say that over time the format of the hearings has become similar to that of an administrative hearing, without the guaranteed accompanying protections. In scathing written comments the Texas Medical Association submitted to TMB in response to the board's proposed ISC rules, TMA said ISCs have become "more and more formal, prescriptive, and regulated," without giving physicians a fair forum to defend themselves.