The American Medical Association this week pledged its support for a compact developed by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) to make it easier for physicians to obtain licenses in multiple states.
The action, taken at its 2014 AMA Interim Meeting, comes amid a rising tide for telemedicine as a means to provide care remotely to rural areas and regions with a shortage of doctors.
FSMB, last spring, adopted an advisory telemedicine model policy that encourages doctors and patients to meet face-to-face before participating in virtual visits. That policy aims to ensure that medical care delivered electronically is held to the same standards as in-person care.
However, the American Telemedicine Association argues that telemedicine is currently held to a higher standard than in-person care and that a patchwork of state laws, particularly on reimbursement and licensing, prevent its growth.
In September, the FSMB announced it had completed drafting the interstate compact.
The new policy calls for AMA to work with other medical associations, the FSMB and other stakeholders to spur adoption of the compact and creation of an Interstate Medical Licensure Commission.
AMA President-Elect Steven J. Stack, in an announcement, said 10 states so far have adopted the compact, and urged others to do so.
It also adopted an amended resolution calling on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to pay for telemedicine services for patients outside of federally determined "shortage" areas who have trouble finding a specialist and can show that a shortage exists.
Federal legislation already has been expanding the use of telemedicine for the care of veterans and Medicare patients.
To learn more:
- read the announcement
- check out the resolution (page 24)