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At its annual meeting in San Antonio, the House of Delegates endorsed arecommendation for additional research into the impact a model policy,developed and released in draft form earlier this year by a special committee,would have on state medical boards, licensed physicians and other stakeholderorganizations (www.fsmb.org/m_mol.html). The draft model policy requiresphysicians to take part in ongoing self-assessment and to demonstratecontinuing competence in their areas of practice.
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"Most patients assume licensed physicians are keeping current with thelatest information and technology in their fields of practice," said FSMBPresident and CEO James N. Thompson, M.D. "The recommendations we aredeveloping will help state medical boards assure the public their expectationsare being met."
The House of Delegates also approved five guiding principles for policydevelopment:
Currently, most physicians demonstrate their competence to their licensingboards only once: when they first apply for a license to practice medicine. Ifmaintenance of licensure requirements are implemented by state medical boards,physicians will periodically be expected to demonstrate their competence inorder to maintain active medical licenses.
For more information on the FSMB's maintenance of licensure initiative,please visit (www.fsmb.org/m_mol.html).
The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) is a national not-for-profitorganization representing the 70 medical boards of the United States and itsterritories. The FSMB's mission is to continuously improve the quality, safetyand integrity of health care by developing and promoting high standards forphysician licensure and practice. Visit the FSMB's website athttp://www.fsmb.org.-- Maintenance of licensure should support physicians' commitment to lifelong learning and facilitate improvement in physician practice. -- Maintenance of licensure systems should be administratively feasible and should be developed in collaboration with other stakeholders. The authority for establishing MOL requirements should remain within the purview of state medical boards. -- Maintenance of licensure should not be overly burdensome for the profession and should not hinder physician mobility. -- The infrastructure to support physician compliance with MOL requirements must be flexible and offer a choice of options for meeting requirements. -- Maintenance of licensure processes should balance transparency with privacy protections.
SOURCE Federation of State Medical Boards
