FCVS Surpasses 200,000 Primary-source Verified Physician

New Uniform
Application Platform
Enhances User
Experience
Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States, Inc.
Fall 2015
FCVS Surpasses 200,000 Primary-source
Verified Physician Portfolios
T
I
n September, the FSMB transitioned the
Uniform Application for Physician State
Licensure (UA) to a new online platform,
providing new features and enhancements to streamline the application
process.
Now used by 23 state medical and
osteopathic boards and more than
55,000 physicians, the UA streamlines
the medical licensure process by using
a common license application between
participating states. Enhancements to
the new version of the UA include:
he FSMB’s Federation Credentials
to the overall total of newly licensed
Verification Service (FCVS) recently
physicians in the United States,” said
surpassed a major milestone with the pro- Michael Dugan, MBA, FSMB Senior Vice
cessing of its 200,000th
President and Chief
• In 2014, FCVS’s usage rose
portfolio of primaryInformation Officer.
to represent 51% of all new
source verified physi“The fact so many
licenses issued in the United
cian credentials. Now
physicians and PAs are
States
in its 19th year, FCVS
choosing FCVS speaks
• 96% of medical boards utilize to the convenience
permanently stores
• An improved user experience
electronic FCVS profiles
key medical credenour lifetime portfolio
• Increased data accuracy through
•
Acceptance
of
electronic
tials for physicians and
provides – they no
pre-populated data fields
profiles
by
medical
schools
physician assistants,
longer have to go
• Enhanced security measures for online
has
substantially
increased
eliminating the need for
through the laborious
payment
duplicative efforts by
process of assembling
medical boards and easing credentialing
and forwarding their credentials every
The core section of the UA, which
burdens for physicians.
time they need to be licensed or credenincludes
data fields required by all
The FSMB in recent years has sought tialed.”
boards,
such
as education, training and
to broaden the use of FCVS in the physiCredentials stored by FCVS include
work
experience,
will be pre-populated
cian and state medical and osteopathic
medical education, postgraduate trainwith
data
if
the
physician’s
informaboard community, while improving the
ing, examination history, history of
tion
already
exists
in
the
FSMB
system
FCVS customer experience. This effort
medical board actions, board certificathrough
his
or
her
use
of
another
FSMB
has included a major technological
tion and identifying information. Stored
service
such
as
the
United
States
Medical
overhaul of the system and the launch of in a secure, centralized repository, the
Licensing Examination or
the “FCVS 2020” initiative. Three advicredentials
Federation Credentials
sory groups, including medical board
can be
U N I F O R M A P P L I C AT I O N
Verification Service. A
representatives, made detailed recomforwarded
FOR PHYSICIAN
customized addendum
mendations for improving the service,
to any state
S TAT E L I C E N S U R E
in the application allows
which over the last year have begun to
medical
each participating board
be implemented.
board or
to
capture
unique
state-level requireIn addition to surpassing the milehealth care entity at the applicant’s
ments.
stone of 200,000 processed portfolios,
request.
FCVS also has achieved several other
Grant funding can offset UA
significant accomplishments:
FCVS Integration with Uniform
UA
• In 2014, the organization’s usage rose
to represent 51% of all new licenses
issued in the United States
• 96% of medical boards utilize electronic FCVS profiles
• Acceptance of electronic profiles by
medical schools has substantially
increased
“One of the measures of the success
of FCVS is the growing percentage of
physicians who use the service, relative
implementation costs
Application
FCVS is integrated with the FSMB’s
Uniform Application for Physician State
Licensure (UA), which streamlines the
licensure process by allowing physicians
to fill out an online application once and
then use the application whenever they
apply for licensure in another state that
utilizes the UA. Approximately 70 percent of applicant data for the UA can be
pre-populated when the applicant uses
...continued on page 4
Newsline | Fall 2015
To help offset implementation costs
for boards, the FSMB has been awarded
a license portability grant to potentially
assist boards using the fully automatic
UA web service version. The standard UA
version is available at essentially no cost
to medical boards.
For more information, visit www.
fsmb.org or contact Ingo Hagemann,
Director, Uniform Application, at ihagemann@fsmb.org.
CME Accreditation Available to Medical Boards from FSMB
T
he FSMB announced that it is
now providing accreditation
services for continuing medical
education programs offered by state
medical and osteopathic boards.
FSMB recently received provisional
accreditation as a provider of CME
by the Accreditation Council for
Continuing Medical Education
(ACCME).
ACCME provisional accreditation is the first tier of ACCME accreditation for initial applicants and is
for a period of two years. ACCME
accreditation seeks to assure both
physicians and the public that CME
activities provided by FSMB meet the
high standards of the Essential Areas,
Elements and Policies for Accreditation
as specified by the ACCME.
“The FSMB is pleased to now offer
free CME accreditation as a service to
state medical boards as they seek to
provide educational programming
to their licensees,” said Kelly Alfred,
MS, Senior Director, FSMB Education
Services.
For more information about
accreditation services, please contact
Ms. Alfred at kalfred@fsmb.org.
tion Strategy (REMS) activity is to
reduce serious adverse outcomes
resulting from inappropriate
prescribing, misuse and abuse of
extended-release or long-acting
(ER/LA) opioid analgesics while
maintaining patient access to
pain medications. (Participants
who complete all six modules
earn three AMA PRA Category 1
Credit(s)TM or three AOA Category
2B Credit(s)).
Free online CME for medical
board licensees
In addition to providing accreditation services to medical boards, the FSMB
also offers opportunities for the licensees
of boards to earn free continuing medical education credits via the Education
section of the FSMB website at www.
fsmb.org. These offerings include:
Safe Prescribing of Extended
Release/Long-acting Opioids – The
goal of this Risk Evaluation and Mitiga-
Internet Drug Sellers: What
Providers Need To Know –
Offered in collaboration with the
Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies, this
program for physicians and pharmacists
encourages participants to discuss the
risks and patient safety issues involved
with purchasing medications from a
rogue Internet pharmacy. (Participants
receive one hour of AMA PRA Category 1
Credit(s)TM or one contact hour of continuing pharmacy education.)
FSMB Policies on Responsible
Opioid Prescribing and Office-based
Opioid Treatment – These learning
...continued on page 4
Exciting Upcoming Educational Events
Fall 2015
Oct. 6-7, 2015: Second Tri-Regulator
Symposium, Arlington, Virginia
Representatives from the member
boards of the FSMB, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) and
the National Council of State Boards of
Nursing (NCSBN) will gather to dialogue
on issues of state-based regulation and
licensure.
and legal staff of state medical and
osteopathic boards, the FSMB’s Board
Attorneys Workshop provides participants
the opportunity to share and exchange
valuable information on case experiences,
best practices and current issues relevant
to board attorneys. For more information,
visit www.fsmb.org.
staff and members to keep informed of
the changes taking place in the medical regulatory landscape. The meeting
includes more than 50 events, ranging
from hands-on educational sessions to
board forums to receptions and keynote
speaker presentations. For more information, visit www.fsmb.org.
Nov. 12-13, 2015: FSMB Board
Attorneys Workshop, Las Vegas
Designed specifically for attorneys
Spring/Fall 2016
April 28-30, 2016: FSMB 104th Annual
Meeting, San Diego
The FSMB Annual Meeting is the
premier forum for state medical board
Newsline | Fall 2015 | Page 2
Sept. 20-23, 2016: IAMRA 2016 Biennial
Conference, Melbourne, Australia
It’s not too early to make plans to
attend the 12th Biennial Conference of
the International Association of Medi...continued on page 4
FSMB Physician Census Snapshot
T
The 2014 Census, the FSMB’s third
force, including the number, gender, age,
he “Census of Actively Licensed Physisuch census of actively licensed physiAmerican Board of Medical Specialties
cians in the United States, 2014” was
cians, includes information on an array
(ABMS) certification and location by state
recently published in the FSMB’s Journal
of all physicians with an active license to
of Medical Regulation, providing an analy- of physician licensure information. In
practice medicine. To access the complete
sis of the most recent physician licensure aggregate, the information offers a current snapshot of the health care workCensus, please visit www.fsmb.org.
data collected by the FSMB from each of
the state medical boards in the
United States. Key findings of the
Figure 1: Physicians with Active Licenses in the United States and the District of Columbia by Location of Medical
2014 Census include:
School Graduation, 2014
• The total population of
licensed physicians (916,264)
has increased by 4% since
2012
• The nation, on average, added
12,168 more licensed physicians annually than it lost
between 2012 and 2014
• The average physician is now
older and still predominantly
male, but increasingly female
at entry level
• The number of actively
licensed physicians who
graduated from international
medical schools, particularly
those in the Caribbean region,
is growing (see Figure 1)
Source: 2014 FSMB Census of Actively Licensed Physicians.
FSMB Volunteers Play A Vital Role in Health Care Policy and
Public Protection
V
olunteers from the state medical
and osteopathic board community
provide the foundation for the FSMB’s
long-standing tradition of effective,
energetic leadership. From serving on
the Board of Directors to participating
on committees and workgroups, volunteers help shape the strategic direction
of FSMB as it supports medical boards
in fulfilling their mission of public
protection.
“Serving in an FSMB leadership
position is an excellent way to have
a substantial and ongoing impact on
health care policy and in ensuring the
protection of the public,” said Donald
Polk, DO, Chair of the FSMB Nominating
Committee. “As a member of a dedicated team of medical and regulatory
professionals, you can help identify
long-term goals and help implement innovative strategies for lasting
change.”
Opportunities Available
The FSMB is currently seeking
nominations for these elected positions:
• Chair-elect (serves for three years:
one year as Chair-elect, one year as
Chair, and one year as Immediate Past
Chair)
• Board of Directors (serve three-year
terms)
• Nominating Committee ( two-year
terms)
Nominations for FSMB leadership
positions open in the fall of each year.
To be eligible to serve in an elected
position, an individual must be an FSMB
Fellow – an appointed member on one
of FSMB’s 70 member medical boards,
who can be elected during the member’s service on a board or for a period
of 36 months thereafter.
Newsline | Fall 2015 | Page 3
Additionally, the FSMB is seeking
appointment recommendations or
letters of interest from FSMB Fellows
willing to serve on a standing committee (Audit, Bylaws, Editorial, Education,
Ethics and Professionalism, or Finance),
and potentially to a special committee or workgroup. Incoming Chair
...continued on page 4
Federation of State Medical Boards
400 Fuller Wiser Rd.
Suite 300
Euless, TX 76039
Presorted STD
U.S. Postage Paid
Fort Worth, TX
Permit 2282
CME Accreditation –
continued from page two
activities educate state medical
boards and the physicians and other
health care providers they license on
FSMB’s recently revised pain policies.
(Participants receive one hour of AMA
PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM for each
activity.)
“Responsible Opioid Prescribing: A Clinician’s Guide” – This
book offers clinicians effective
strategies for reducing the risk of
addiction, abuse and diversion of
opioids that they prescribe for their
patients in pain. This new edition
includes new information from
FSMB’s Model Guidelines, FDA labeling, and preventing opioid overdose
not available when the first edition
was published in 2007. (Participants
receive up to 7.25 hours of AMA PRA
Category 1 Credit(s)TM free; purchase
price of book is $16.95.)
FCVS Surpasses 200,000 –
continued from page one
FCVS. As UA usage continues to grow,
the number of the more than 200,000
FCVS users accessing this added convenience is expected to increase as well.
For more information about FCVS,
please visit www.fsmb.org or contact
Jama Ball, Senior Director of FCVS, at
jball@fsmb.org.
Educational Events –
continued from page two
cal Regulatory Authorities (IAMRA),
which will be held in Melbourne. The
popular IAMRA conferences draw
medical regulators from around the
world, including representatives from
U.S. state medical boards. The 2016
conference will be co-hosted by the
Medical Board of Australia and Australian Health Practitioners Regulation
Agency. For more information, visit
www.iamra.com.
FSMB Volunteers –
continued from page three
Arthur Hengerer, MD, will finalize
appointments to all committees and
workgroups after the FSMB Annual
Meeting in April 2016.
Appointment recommendations
or letters of interest from FSMB
Fellows willing to serve on a
committee or workgroup should be
submitted by Dec. 31, 2015.
Learn more about becoming an
FSMB leader
To learn more about becoming an
FSMB leader, including current opportunities and requirements for each
position, visit the “Become a Leader”
section under the About tab at www.
fsmb.org or contact Pat McCarty,
Director, FSMB Leadership Services, at
pmccarty@fsmb.org.
Please send your questions, comments and article ideas to: Drew Carlson, FSMB Newsline, 400 Fuller Wiser Rd., Suite 300, Euless, TX, 76039,
dcarlson@fsmb.org, (817) 868-4043. Visit the FSMB’s website at www.fsmb.org.