FSMB: ’Interstate compact’ is making progress

An initiative to streamline multistate medical licensure for physicians is making progress, the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) announced earlier this month. A newly appointed drafting team will use eight key consensus principles to shape the new system, which calls for a formal agreement among states that would allow them to expedite the licensure process for physicians who meet rigorous eligibility requirements.

Under the system, known as an “interstate compact,” participating state medical boards would retain their licensing and disciplinary authority but would share information and processes essential to the licensing and regulation of physicians who practice across state borders. Physicians practicing in multiple states would receive a license in each state and be under the jurisdiction of the state medical board where the patient is located at the time of medical interaction. Participation in an interstate compact would be voluntary for both states and physicians, the FSMB stated.