11,000th Medical License Issued through Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Process
2,676 licenses issued since the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic
WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 13, 2020) – The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC) continues to see an increase in interest from physicians wishing to obtain multiple medical licenses through its expedited pathway to licensure. As of August, 11,347 medical licenses have been issued using the IMLC process. 2,676 licenses have been issued since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic (February-July).
During the month of June, the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Commission (IMLCC) processed a record number of 479 applications, resulting in a record number of 538 licenses issued. The number of license renewals for physicians in a single month also hit an all-time high of 702 during June.
“We are pleased to see that more and more physicians are seeing the benefit of using the IMLC to obtain their medical licenses,” said Marschall Smith, Executive Director of the IMLCC. “We look forward to welcoming more physicians to the IMLC process as we continue to build upon the foundational strength of the organization.”
“The IMLCC and the nation’s state medical boards have been invaluable resources to both physicians and patients during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Humayun J. Chaudhry, DO, President and CEO of the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB). “It is encouraging to see the increase in physician usage of the Compact and we expect those numbers to increase as more states consider joining.”
The IMLC officially went online in 2017. Since then, 29 states, Guam and the District of Columbia have enacted legislation to become members of the Compact. Legislation to join the IMLC is pending in Louisiana, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island.
For more information about the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, please visit IMLCC.org. You can read the IMLCC’s August, 2020 newsletter here.
About the Federation of State Medical Boards
The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) is a national non-profit organization representing the 71 medical boards within the United States and its territories that license and discipline allopathic and osteopathic physicians and, in some jurisdictions, other health care professionals. The FSMB serves as the voice for state medical boards, supporting them through education, assessment, research and advocacy while providing services and initiatives that promote patient safety, quality health care and regulatory best practices. The FSMB serves the public through Docinfo.org, a free physician search tool which provides background information on the nearly 1 million doctors in the United States. To learn more about FSMB, visit www.fsmb.org. and follow FSMB on Twitter (@theFSMB).