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The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Expediting multiple licenses By Jon Thomas, MD, MBA
I
f I asked you to describe government, I doubt the first word that would come to mind would be “innovative.” Yet the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact is an innovation of state governments and their medical boards. Every practicing physician in the U.S. has gone through the process of acquiring a medical license. The process varies from state to state and it can take months for a single license to be approved. I have been asked on many occasions why all the states can’t agree on a single licensing process that is acceptable to all states and territories. Others have asked why the federal government doesn’t intervene and provide a single national medical license that is good in all of the states and territories. These are all good questions! And the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact may provide the answer.
Rural health care A look at the challenges By Sen. Al Franken
R
ural communities in Minnesota and across the country face unique challenges when it comes to ensuring access to quality health care. As the co-chair of the Senate’s bipartisan Rural Health Caucus, addressing those challenges has been a top priority for me. Late last year, I convened a group of rural health experts at the University of Minnesota to kick off a “Rural Health Tour” of our state. Since then, we have led nearly 30 meetings with
providers, patients, and local officials in dozens of communities across Minnesota. We talked with almost 300 key health care stakeholders and community leaders who helped us identify the most pressing issues facing our rural health care systems. In each of those meetings, we asked people to explain their biggest challenges in delivering care, the actions they’re taking to address those challenges, and potential opportunities for Rural health care to page 16
The history of licensure The quest for licensure nirvana began over 100 years ago. In the early 20th century, prior to the standardization of medical school education, the American Confederation of Reciprocating Examining and Licensing Boards, as the name implies, advocated for reciprocity of licensure between states. At that time, there were no The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact to page 18