Newswise — Dallas, Texas – The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) announced today that it has received certification from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

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.

“The FSMB is very pleased to receive this prestigious certification from the NCQA,” said Humayun Chaudhry, DO, President and CEO of the FSMB. “This certification represents FSMB’s commitment to improving quality by promoting high standards of performance to greater meet the changing health care needs in service to our member boards in their protection of the public.”

The FSMB received certification under NCQA’s Credentials Verification Organization Certification Program for the following credentials elements: Education and Training, Ongoing Monitoring of Sanctions, Medicare/Medicaid Sanctions, and Medical Board Sanctions.

“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 the NCQA.

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.

A service of the FSMB, the Federation Credentials Verification Service (FCVS), provides physicians and physician assistants with a lifetime portfolio of primary-source verified credentials. The FSMB’s Federation Physician Data Center, a central repository of U.S. state medical board disciplinary and licensure data, offers two services used in performing credentialing functions or pre-employment background checks: the Board Action Data Search and the Disciplinary Alert Service.

Established in 1996, FCVS has gained widespread acceptance and usage in the United States and internationally. The service is accepted by nearly all state medical boards and as of August 2012 had been used by more than 150,000 physicians and physician assistants. Credentials stored by FCVS include medical education, postgraduate training, examination history, history of medical board actions, board certification and identifying information.

Established in 1912, the FSMB was the first organization to publish and distribute the names of the nation’s disciplined physicians. That information is now disseminated electronically via the Federation Physician Data Center (FPDC), a repository of board action and licensure data on U.S. physicians that contains thousands of disciplinary actions against physicians dating back to the 1960s. The FPDC receives regular updates from state medical boards when they take disciplinary actions.

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About the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB)The 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. It assists these state and territorial medical boards as they go about their mandate of protecting the public’s health, safety and welfare. The FSMB leads by promoting excellence in medical practice, licensure, and regulation. For more information, please visit www.fsmb.org.

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