The first FSMB Annual Meeting I attended was 12 years ago in Seattle, WA. While I was new to my state board, this singular FSMB meeting had a profound impact on me; I would go so far as to say that it was an epiphany. It was at this meeting that I realized the power of our medical regulation community convening from across the country and around the world with a unifying sense of purpose and with diverse perspectives and collective passion for patient safety, working to find answers to difficult questions. At the time, I really did not believe that one day I would be so fortunate as to be elected to the FSMB Board of Directors, let alone be afforded the honor of serving as the Chair.
In today's increasingly complex health care environment, I believe collaboration will be critical for state medical boards' continuing success and ability to overcome the many challenges facing us. In the year to come, I will emphasize the creative use of collaboration through the following important partnerships: 1) between FSMB and medical boards; 2) among medical boards; and 3) between the medical regulatory community and key national and international organizations. We will also continue to emphasize supporting the needs of state medical boards. This will include supporting initiatives that uphold state medical board authority and state-based licensure and forming FSMB committees and workgroups that spotlight issues of particular concern to medical regulators.
Ethics and Professionalism
The Ethics and Professionalism Committee, chaired by newly elected Chair-elect Katie Templeton, JD, was tasked with identifying state medical board best practices for assessing and enforcing standards of care of and the role of expert witnesses. The Committee's report, entitled “Considerations for Identifying Standards of Care,” was recently adopted by the FSMB's House of Delegates.
FSMB continues to monitor the ongoing development of artificial or augmented intelligence (AI) in healthcare and will be prepared to support our member boards when needed. There is increasing awareness of the potential for both rewards and dangers of the use of AI in healthcare, and we at the FSMB are aware of calls for regulation. In the coming year, the Ethics and Professionalism Committee, chaired by FSMB board member Mark Woodland, MS, MD, will study the ethical considerations related to deployment of artificial intelligence in healthcare and will provide guidance, as may be needed, for the state medical boards.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
We live in a national environment characterized by political division, social polarization, and erosion of trust. Past Chair Dr. Kenneth Simons waded through many of these issues with the FSMB during the throes of the pandemic and we are still thoughtfully navigating many of those same waters, ever mindful of the mission of our member boards to protect the public.
The FSMB's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Workgroup, for which I was honored to have served as Chair over the past two years, identified best practices for state medical boards to consider mitigating and eliminating inequity in medical regulation and patient care. The Workgroup's information report is a companion piece to last year's interim report, which focused on practicalities and a playbook of recommended practices. The FSMB will continue to support equity in medical regulation and in the provision of quality healthcare to achieve safe patient outcomes.
Opioids
In response to the nation's continuing opioid epidemic, the FSMB created a Workgroup on Opioid and Addiction Treatment, to better align current guidelines in prescribing and treatment of substance use disorder, and in physician impairment. Over the next year, the work of this important workgroup will continue, under the capable leadership of FSMB Immediate Past Chair Dr. Sarvam TerKonda.
Advocacy
The FSMB's Advocacy Office, based in Washington, DC, continues to monitor legislative and policy developments at the federal and state levels. The primary initiatives this team is currently undertaking include supporting the SHARE Act, to improve medical licensure portability through interstate compacts; supporting an increase in the physician workforce by expanding graduate medical education; and, through the FSMB's participation as a founding member of the Opioid Regulatory Collaborative, working to curb the nation's opioid epidemic.
Education and Communication
The digitalization of continuing medical education everywhere has continued to transform how FSMB delivers educational content. In 2022, FSMB accredited 16 CME activities including two hybrid events; nine live, internet courses; and five web-based enduring activities for a total of 42.5 AMA PRA Category 1 credit hours. In addition to the learning activities provided by the FSMB, the organization also continues to participate jointly in CME activities in partnership with the Idaho Board of Medicine, the North Carolina Medical Board, the Washington Medical Commission, and the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME).
The FSMB's peer-reviewed journal, the Journal of Medical Regulation, recently announced Dr. Mark A. Bechtel as its new Editor-in-Chief. Building on the outstanding work of his predecessors (most recently Dr. Heidi M. Koenig), Dr. Bechtel will work to ensure that JMR continues to serve as a primary vehicle through which the national and international medical regulatory community shares new knowledge and best practices about physician licensure, discipline, and regulation.
I would also like to announce the establishment of two new FSMB workgroups: The Workgroup on Regulation of Physicians in Training and The Workgroup on Physician Reentry to Practice.
The Workgroup on Regulation of Physicians in Training will convene a diverse group of representatives from state medical boards and leaders in graduate medical education to make recommendations related to the oversight of residents in training in the United States. This will include a review of the value of resident training licenses and post-graduate training requirements for full licensure, as well as a look at training for residency rotations across state lines. The Physicians in Training Workgroup will be chaired by FSMB board member Andrea Anderson, MD, M.Ed., FAAFP.
The Workgroup on Physician Re-entry to Practice, chaired by FSMB board member George Abraham, MD, MPH, will convene representatives from state medical boards and a number of professional organizations to revisit and revise, as may be recently needed, the FSMB's policy recommendations related to re-entry to practice. From the FSMB's outreach to state medical boards, we know that this issue has resurfaced, in part due to physicians who left practice during the pandemic and sought to return to practice. Additionally, as the definition of medical practice evolves, many more physicians and physician assistants are taking non-traditional positions, a phenomenon that warrants careful study.
Building on engagement with the state medical boards is key as FSMB strengthens operational assets, raises awareness of the vital role of medical regulation and strategizes future regulatory opportunities for the boards.
As a member of the Missouri Board of Registration for the Healing Arts, and the FSMB Board, I have had the privilege of working with many talented, devoted public servants in medical regulatory community. It will be my great honor to serve as your Chair in the year ahead.
