Viewpoint: Interstate medical licensure could ’catalyze’ changes

If the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) proposed interstate medical licensure compact were approved by state legislators and incorporated into the laws of most states, it could catalyze many substantial changes in medical practice, wrote Robert Steinbrook, MD, in an online Viewpoint in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Potential benefits include easing the physician shortage in rural and other underserved areas and speeding the growth of telemedicine.

 At present, if a physician wants to practice in more than one state, he or she typically applies directly to one of the 70 medical and osteopathic boards within the United States and its territories. Individual applications are required and some states require special telemedicine licenses. The proposed licensure compact, developed by representatives of state medical boards under the auspices of FSMB, would allow eligible physicians to apply for expedited licensure in participating states, Steinbrook wrote.

In 2012, there were 878,194 physicians with an active license to practice medicine in the United States (789,788 with medical degrees and 58,329 with osteopathic degrees) and 78% of physicians held only one active license. Sixteen percent had active licenses in two jurisdictions, and 6% had active licenses in three or more jurisdictions, according to the article. 

Source: JAMA