FSMB serves as a respected resource on state medical regulatory policy for our member boards, state and federal policymakers, the Administration, and key healthcare organizations.
In 2022, the FSMB helped secure a major legislative win with the passage of the Department of Veterans Affairs Provider Accountability Act (S. 2041). This legislation will strengthen reporting requirements for VA Medical Centers to state medical boards and the National Practitioner Data Bank. Passing this bipartisan legislation has been a focus of FSMB for several years. The Advocacy team and our state board volunteers have been heavily engaged in getting the bill signed into law, holding numerous meetings with Congressional Offices and Committees and testifying before the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs in 2017.
Advancing Boards’ Priorities on Capitol Hill
The FSMB Board of Directors and staff participated in the annual Day on Capitol Hill in March 2023 to speak with Members of Congress and staff about the important work of FSMB and several legislative initiatives the organization is supporting. FSMB met with 25 Congressional Offices to discuss the SHARE Act (H.R. 1310), a bipartisan bill to address challenges state boards experience in conducting criminal background checks for interstate licensure compacts. The delegation also discussed graduate medical education funding and efforts to address the nation’s opioid crisis.
Helping Member Boards Achieve Legislative Priorities
In 2022, FSMB monitored more than 3,000 legislative bills, on issues such as COVID-19 licensure waivers, modified continuing medical education requirements, pain management and opioid prescribing, reproductive health, board authority, telemedicine, scope of practice, and many other policy areas. At the request of our member boards, FSMB submitted official letters and testimony in response to legislation in the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Mexico, and New York.
Membership Engagement: New Department for Serving Member Boards
In August 2022, Andrea Ciccone, JD joined the FSMB staff as Vice President for Engagement and Member Services, to better serve our membership. The newly formed department of Membership Engagement is dedicated to developing and implementing strategic initiatives that ensure valuable, high-quality engagement experiences for FSMB member boards. Since joining the organization, Ms. Ciccone has worked with many staff and board members to understand the local trends and challenges that member boards face and to solicit input on the ways in which the FSMB can work to improve upon services offered to state medical boards.
Recognizing the need and desire for role-specific educational programming and networking opportunities, FSMB and Administrators in Medicine (AIM) co-hosted a first-of-its-kind meeting for executive directors on January 30-31, 2023, at FSMB’s office in Euless, TX. Nearly 50 Executive Directors attended, in-person and virtually, to share ideas and best practices about topics such as board governance, operations management, and licensing, and to network with colleagues from across the country. FSMB staff will continue to develop and plan additional opportunities to facilitate networking and educational experiences to support member boards in the coming year.
Delivering Tailored Operational Reviews
FSMB often receives requests from state medical boards asking for a comprehensive, targeted review of the Board's operations, policies and procedures, and/or statutes and regulations. These requests can range from focusing on handling a specific topic such as physician sexual misconduct to assisting in streamlining or automating processes to rewriting a state's Medical Practice Act. At a board’s request, FSMB puts together a proposal tailored to the board’s specific needs and then convenes a team of leaders, staff, and state medical board members with expertise in the objective areas best suited to complete the review. To date, the FSMB has assisted the Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure, the Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners, the North Carolina Medical Board, and the State Medical Board of Ohio with operational and subject-specific reviews. In 2023, the FSMB concluded a comprehensive operational review of the Virgin Islands Board of Medical Examiners and delivered a final report and recommendations for the board’s consideration.
Advancing License Portability
Improving license portability for physicians and PAs continues to be one of FSMB’s strategic goals. Funding and support for the FSMB’s license portability efforts has been provided by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) License Portability Grant Program, with the goal of easing licensing hurdles and improving access to care, especially in rural and underserved communities. In May 2023, the FSMB received an award notice of an additional $1,000,000 in grant funding that will be used to further license portability efforts by supporting Provider Bridge, the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC), and the PA Licensure Compact.
In 2020, the FSMB received a $2,500,000 grant to develop Provider Bridge, a platform that helps connect volunteer health care providers with state agencies and health care entities during public health emergencies and natural disasters. Since its launch, Provider Bridge has registered nearly 200,000 physicians, PAs and nurses willing to provide care during times of need. Part of the additional $1,000,000 HRSA grant funding will be used to enhance messaging and outreach to encourage more health care professionals to register for the Provider Bridge platform. HRSA is committed to making Provider Bridge an integral tool in the nation’s disaster preparedness and response apparatus.
The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC) continued its rapid growth and expansion in 2022-2023. The IMLC offers an expedited pathway to licensure for physicians wishing to practice in multiple states and territories. Since its implementation in 2017, nearly 70,000 licenses have been issued through the Compact and 39 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam are now members of the IMLC. In 2023, HRSA grant funding will be used to conduct a retrospective research study to identify practice trends of physicians who utilize the IMLC.
Partnering to Strengthen Medical Regulation
The FSMB continues to play a pivotal role as the Secretariat and founding member of the International Association of Medical Regulatory Authorities (IAMRA). In 2023, IAMRA is made up of 112 members from 47 countries dedicated to promoting effective medical regulation worldwide. In May 2023, the IAMRA Board of Directors met in Los Angeles, California to review and discuss IAMRA’s performance over the past three years and to develop and refine IAMRA’s organizational strategy for the 2023-2026. Included in that meeting was IAMRA Board Member Nicole Krishnaswami, JD, Executive Director of the Oregon Medical Board. The 2023 IAMRA Members General Assembly will take place on November 8, 2023, in Bali, Indonesia
The Opioid Regulatory Collaborative (ORC), composed of leaders from the FSMB, American Association of Dental Boards, National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, and National Council of State Boards of Nursing, continued to hold frequent virtual meetings throughout 2022-2023. The ORC was formed to share resources and strategies to reduce opioid use disorder among healthcare professionals and the public, including seeking to align guidance for state boards of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and dentistry. These resources are continuously updated on the ORC’s website.
The Workgroup held three meetings between July 2022 through January 2023, one of which took place in person in Washington, DC, and featured 18 speakers, including pain management experts, representatives from federal agencies, patient advocates and representatives of medical specialty societies. The Workgroup utilized the information provided by these experts, coupled with a literature and policy review, to begin updating FSMB’s policies and ultimately prepared a draft report entitled Strategies for Prescribing Opioids for the Management of Pain. The draft is currently being revised to add additional information and input that will then go before the FSMB House of Delegates in 2024.
The Special Committee on Strategic Planning, led by former Chair, Kenneth B. Simons, MD, met in September and December 2022 to review the current FSMB Strategic Plan, which includes the organization’s vision, mission statement, and strategic goals.
During its deliberations, the Special Committee considered key facts about the FSMB and its member boards, including their structure and function; environmental factors impacting medical regulation; challenges and opportunities affecting key stakeholders; and information on the changing national healthcare policy landscape. The committee concluded that the plan remains fundamentally sound, focusing on relevant strategic imperatives and addressing key environmental factors. The committee recommended adjustments, however, to align elements of the plan more closely with emerging trends and new issues of importance to state medical boards – particularly those accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The final report and revised strategic plan were adopted by the FSMB House of Delegates during its May 2023 Annual Business Meeting.
Crafting Forward-Thinking Policy
The Workgroup on Opioid and Addiction Treatment, chaired by Sarvam TerKonda, MD, was established in May 2022 and was charged with conducting a comprehensive review and evaluation of all current FSMB policies, terms, and definitions related to opioids; conducting a comprehensive literature review of current research, guidelines, and other publications; and developing a report and policy recommendations for consideration by the FSMB House of Delegates.
The overarching goals of the Workgroup are to reduce stigma by treating Opioid Use Disorder/Substance Use Disorder (OUD/SUD) as other chronic conditions; align policies with current guidelines and/or guidance (e.g. CDC, SAMHSA, DOJ, DEA), evidence, and best practices; and encourage expanded access to evidence-based treatments for the public and healthcare professionals.
