Newswise — WASHINGTON – Alabama became the seventh state to enact the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact after Governor Robert Bentley signed the legislation into law today, triggering the formation of the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Commission. The Commission will administer a new streamlined process for qualified physicians seeking to obtain licensure in multiple states and jurisdictions participating in the Compact.
“Now that seven states have enacted the Compact legislation, we can begin the real work of establishing the Compact to ensure patients have access to quality healthcare services, while maintaining the highest level of patient protections,” said Larry D. Dixon, Executive Director, Alabama Board of Medical Examiners. “The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact will ease the physician shortage in rural and other underserved areas. We thank Governor Bentley and the state lawmakers for moving swiftly and prudently to establish a new era of care, patient protections and physician licensing.”
The Interstate Compact Commission, established within the Compact legislation, will meet later this year to discuss the management and administration of the Compact. Members of the Commission will consist of two voting representatives appointed by each member state. Commissioners will be selected from:• Allopathic or osteopathic physicians appointed to a member board;• Executive directors, executive secretaries, or similar executives of a member board; or• Members of the public appointed to a member board.
The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact model legislation creates a streamlined process for medical licensure for physicians interested in practicing medicine in multiple states. Since the completion of the Compact’s drafting process last year, nearly 20 states have formally introduced the legislation in their legislative chambers. Alabama joins Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming as states that have formally enacted the Compact.
For more information about the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, visit: http://licenseportability.org/
About the Federation of State Medical Boards: The 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. FSMB leads by promoting excellence in medical practice, licensure, and regulation as the national resource and voice on behalf of state medical boards in their protection of the public. To learn more about FSMB visit: http://www.fsmb.org/. You can also follow FSMB on Twitter (@theFSMB) and Facebook by liking the Federation of State Medical Boards page.
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