Doctors without (State) Borders
By Colin Stayton
Could streamlined interstate medical licensure alleviate the physician shortage? Yes, says the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB), which has proposed such a system.
The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, proposed in 2014, would expedite the process of obtaining medical licenses in multiple states. The compact stipulates the creation of a special commission that would function alongside existing state licensing boards to manage interstate medical licensing.
“The compact would make it easier and faster for physicians to obtain a license to practice in multiple states, thus helping extend the impact and availability of their care at a time when demand is expected to grow significantly,” Humayun Chaudhry, DO, President and CEO of the FSMB, said in an interview with HealthLeaders Media.
Proponents of the compact believe it could increase healthcare access by supporting telemedicine among states. In rural and underserved communities for which the largest metropolitan hospital is in a neighboring state, the compact would reduce the administrative burden of that hospital extending its telemedicine program across the state line.
Under the compact, only certain physicians — such as those with specialty certification or a time-unlimited specialty certification and a full and unrestricted medical license for at least three years — would be eligible for interstate medical licensure. Additionally, as noted in an opinion piece published last August in The Journal of the American Medical Association, all states in which a physician wished to obtain a license would have to agree to the compact.
