The Federation of State Medical Board’s (FSMB) www.fsmb.org 2016 Annual Report released in June, updates the Board’s activities related to database updates, data sharing, Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Grants, and the activities of the FSMB Workgroup concerning telemedicine consultations.
According to the Annual Report, the FSMB continues to make major investments in technology and has completed a system-wide integration of their previously diverse data systems into a single integrated enterprise eliminating redundant tasks.
There are several FSMB projects that are making improvements to make information more accessible. The Physician Data Center (PDC), a central repository for license and discipline information for more than one million physicians and physician assistants has been updated. As a result, the FSMB in 2015 was able to process more than 56 million license records from state boards.
Recent improvements have been made to “DocInfo” which includes data from the PDC. The system has a new modernized technical platform, has simplified navigation, and now links to State Medical Boards (SMB). Also FSMB has a new web portal for SMBs providing one-stop shopping making it easier to engage in a variety of transactions.
In early 2016, the FSMB Foundation began accepting applications for grants to support projects associated with the new Interstate Medical Licensure Compact. The grants can be used for a number of activities including educating stakeholders, implementing Compact administrative requirements, and for training purposes.
The FSMB Foundation has allocated $60,000 for this initiative and to date, five grants totaling $9,000 have been awarded. Since 2015, 12 states have enacted the Compact and more than 30 state medical and osteopathic boards support the Compact.
The FSMB has initiated a Telemedicine Workgroup concerned with telemedicine consultations and seeks common definitions for physician-to-physician consultations. To do this task, the Workgroup is reviewing telemedicine services and examining models for the regulation of physician-to-physician consultations.
Go to www.fsmb.org to view the June 2016 FSMB Annual Report.