Medical boards look to streamline licensure rules to advance telemedicine
To promote telemedicine, the Federal of State Medical Boards (FSMB) is proposing an update to its draft interstate compact that could streamline physician licensure requirements.
The compact would provide an alternative pathway for state-based licensure so physicians interested in practicing telemedicine in multiple states could obtain licenses more quickly. It also would reaffirm the location of a patient as the jurisdiction for oversight and patient protections.
According to FSMB, the revised draft compact would:
- Require physicians who wish to participate in the compact to submit to fingerprinting or other biometric background checks to be eligible for licensure in additional states;
- Alter specialty board certification requirements to clarify that those with time-unlimited certification are eligible under the compact; and
- Require that physicians who wish to participate in the compact pass each component of the Medical Licensing Examination or the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medicine Licensing Examination within three attempts.
“The goal of the compact is to ensure that qualified physicians are able to practice medicine in a safe and accountable manner and that the strongest healthcare consumer protections are maintained,” said Humayun J. Chaudhry, DO, president and CEO of FSMB, in a statement. “The revised compact helps ensure that as the practice of telemedicine continues to expand, patient protection remains a top priority. We look forward to sharing the revised compact with state medical boards across the country and look forward to working with them to achieve implementation,” he added in his statement.
Read the draft compact here.