Newswise — EULESS, TEXAS (August 2, 2016) – The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) announced that it has been certified for a third time by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). The FSMB, which received its initial NCQA Certification in 2012, is certified under NCQA’s Credentials Verification Organization Certification Program for the following credentials elements: Education and Training, Ongoing Monitoring of Sanctions, Medicare/Medicaid Sanctions, Medical Board Sanctions, and License to Practice.

CVO Certification includes rigorous on-site evaluations conducted by a team of health care professionals and certified credentialing specialists. A national oversight committee of physicians analyzes the team’s finding and determines certification based on the CVO’s compliance with NCQA standards.

“The FSMB is very pleased to again receive this prestigious certification from the NCQA,” said Michael Dugan, MBA, Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President of Operations for the FSMB. “This certification represents FSMB’s commitment to improving quality and promoting high standards as we support state medical boards in their mission of public protection.”

“Achieving CVO Certification from NCQA demonstrates that the Federation of State Medical Boards has the systems, process and personnel in place to thoroughly and accurately verify providers' credentials and help health plan clients meet their accreditation goals,” said Margaret E. O’Kane, President of NCQA.

The Federation Credentials Verification Service (FCVS) provides physicians and physician assistants with a lifetime portfolio of primary-source verified credentials. The service is accepted by all state medical boards and has been used by more than 225,000 physicians and physician assistants.

The FSMB Physician Data Center is a central repository of data from every state medical board in the United States that includes comprehensive licensure, disciplinary and educational information on the more than 900,000 actively licensed physicians in the United States. The Physician Data Center offers two services used in performing credentialing functions or pre-employment background checks: the Board Action Data Search and the Disciplinary Alert Service.

NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations. It also recognizes clinicians and practices in key areas of performance. NCQA is committed to providing health care quality information for consumers, purchasers, health care providers and researchers.

###

About the Federation of State Medical BoardsThe Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) is a national non-profit organization representing all medical boards within the United States and its territories that license and discipline allopathic and osteopathic physicians and, in some jurisdictions, other health care professionals. The FSMB serves as the voice for state medical boards, supporting them through education, assessment, research and advocacy while providing services and initiatives that promote patient safety, quality health care and regulatory best practices. To learn more about FSMB, visit http://www.fsmb.org. You can also follow FSMB on Twitter (@theFSMB and @FSMBPolicy).