Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Adds New Jersey, Indiana, Elects New Officers
The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Commission has announced that New Jersey and Indiana are the latest states to join the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC), becoming the thirty-sixth and thirty-seventh jurisdictions to join.
The Compact now includes 35 states, the District of Columbia and the Territory of Guam as member jurisdictions. Compact legislation has also been introduced in 2022 in seven other states.
The IMLC Commission, the administrative body of the IMLC, recently announced its newly elected officers. They include:
Mark Spangler, West Virginia, Chair
Christine Farrelly, Maryland, Vice-Chair
Karen Silas, Alabama, Treasurer
Jesse Cushman, Nebraska, Past Chair
For more information about the IMLC or the IMLC Commission, please contact Marschall Smith at [email protected].
FSMB Opposes Legislative Efforts to Limit State Medical Boards’ Authority to Investigate Patient Harm
The Federation of State Medical Boards’ Board of Directors released a statement on February 28, 2022, in opposition to a growing legislative trend aimed at limiting state medical boards’ ability to investigate complaints of patient harm. The statement reads:
“State medical boards protect patients by investigating complaints, evaluating the standard of care and taking disciplinary action when appropriate. The FSMB opposes legislation intended to limit a board’s ability to conduct this important work as it sets a dangerous precedent and puts the public at risk. State legislatures are encouraged to work with their state medical boards to uphold existing statutory authority to respond to complaints about the quality of care provided and take disciplinary action against physicians when necessary to protect the public.”
The FSMB also announced that it has begun tracking state legislation that is intended to limit state medical boards’ authority. To view the FSMB’s legislative summary, visit https://track.govhawk.com/reports/2lWe3/public.
NCCPA Releases Updated Statistical Profile of Recently Certified Physician Assistants
The physician assistant (PA) workforce continues to show strong growth in the United States, according to newly released statistics from the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA).
Data from the latest edition of NCCPA’s periodic Statistical Profile of Recently Certified Physician Assistants — which highlights the growth, demographic and geographical distribution of newly certified PAs — shows rapid growth of the profession in some U.S. states, in particular.
In a five-year period from 2016–2020, for example, the number of newly certified PAs in Rhode Island more than doubled, while in South Carolina, the number increased by 86.6%, and many states had a 50% or higher increase, according to NCCPA. The top five states with the largest numbers of recently certified PAs are New York, Pennsylvania, California, Florida and Texas.
The NCCPA report collected information about 9,915 newly Certified PAs, who were certified for the first time in 2020.
Nearly 50% of recently certified PAs who accepted a clinical position following certification took jobs in hospitals, according to the report, while just over 30% accepted jobs in office-based private practice. The remaining 20% of newly certified PAs took jobs in a wide variety of settings, ranging from urgent care and community health centers to nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities.
To read the full report, visit www.nccpa.net.
