By Michael P. Broxterman, COO & Nanette Smith, Pinnacle Health Group
You just got a great new position in a part of the country you’ve long fantasized about. The only problem is they need you to come tomorrow, and you don’t have a license in that state. The first thing you might do is search the internet. If you type in “physician licensing,” most search engines will take you to a dizzying array of sites. Some report on seemingly futile efforts to streamline the process of licensing. Others are websites of companies that will help you obtain your license. Most are state-specific. Go to one of the states, say, Georgia, and.well.Good luck!
Getting that license can be as long and drawn out as if you stretched a ball of red tape from your house to the nearest state-house. It involves these basic steps:
- Providing the CV
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- Filling in the application(s) from the state
- Providing any additional documents required–which may come from dozens of different sources
In addition, some physicians may have to:
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- Interview with state officials
- Take an examination
The process may be easily described in a few basic steps, but it’s not so easily done, especially if your attention is focused elsewhere, for example on your move, your new opportunity, or on being a good doctor. Help is available, however. If you were working with us, we’d do whatever it takes to help you obtain that license on time. Oftentimes, we’ve turned to Licensure Resources Limited, a licensing consultancy owned by Jason and Brenda Janoulis. I interviewed Jason the other day about their business to learn some of what is involved in the licensing physicians.
Jumping through the Hoops
Like doing your taxes, you can work to obtain your license on your own or get experts to help you. If you’re going to try and do it on your own, you might check out the American Medical Association’s State Medical Licensure Requirements and Statistics Ordering information for this and other helpful guides is on the AMA website,. Our expert, Jason Janoulis also publishes an annually updated Guidelines in the United States of America for Physicians.of the Guide. See the e-form of this guide on the internet site–ourdoctor.com. As mentioned, there are state websites that promise to guide you through the process. But even at their most user-friendly, these resources will scare a healthy respect in you for what’s entailed in licensing. You’ll see that “every state is different. The rules change. And there are hundreds of small variations, which you either have to keep in mind or remember to check,” as Janoulis said.
Not only is each state unique, but every doctor’s case is different. According to Janoulis, one doctor may require anywhere from fifteen to fifty entities be contacted in order to retrieve the documentation required by his/her respective State Medical Board. That’s a lot of paper–and a lot of time.
Getting a Leg-Up
If you’re not the obsessive type (or perhaps if you are–and want to make sure you won’t be caught short when it’s time to start your new job) see if you can enlist the help of your future employer or the recruiting company with which you worked. They should be motivated to help. They, in turn, may hire a licensing consultant. Many have long-standing relationships with such consultancies, as we do with LRL.
There are a number of businesses like LRL nationwide filling an important niche. And they do sometimes work with physicians directly, usually, according to Janoulis, locum tenens, who need to be able to move into a new state quickly.” They also work increasingly with doctors practicing telemedicine. “That’s going to be a growth area for the whole medical field, and that means us too,” Janoulis said.
But whether you get help or work on own, in the end you’ll either meet the criteria or you won’t on your own merits. “We don’t make promises we can’t keep,” said Janoulis. “We look at what the doctor has and what the state requires. If we don’t think it’s going to work in the time parameters, we’ll be honest with that doctor.”
Learning Patience
So how long does it take to get a license? “It really varies,” Jason explained. “There is a range of times set by the state, which you can see in our book. The issue is how long it takes to get all the doctor’s paperwork into the right hands.” “But what I was more referring to is the time it takes to get the physician’s required documentation–once collected– into the right in-box in the right office. “That’s where we shine.”
And they do that–how?
“That’s the thousand-dollar question,” he said, implying a tantalizing business secret. “But, truly, it’s nothing magic,” he continued. “It’s just that we know so much and have so much experience.Sure, we know some shortcuts; but it’s the whole process we use to expedite things.”
Being Informed
Once upon a time getting a state license, like much in the practice of medicine, wasn’t so complicated. And when things get more complicated, they take longer. Why have things changed? One reason is that competing political pressures have been brought to bear on states by public and private interests. The public, the healthcare industry, medical educators, and politicians may all get into the act of licensing. Consider the social changes related to medicine, such as the increased reliance on managed care, greater mobility of doctors, and internet medicine. Also states have responded to growing public anxiety about malpractice, justified or not. It can’t hurt to find out what political issues have affected your state’s licensing procedures.
Besides the AMA’s website, and state-specific sites, you can find a helpful chart listing licensing requirements by state requirements at www.visalaw.com .
Whether you get expert help or go it alone, keep in mind from the outset that getting the proper license to make your dream come true won’t be as quick and easy as you’d like. That much is practically guaranteed. So be patient. Expect delays. You may be pleasantly surprised.