|
The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) is a national non-profit organization represents the seventy medical and osteopathic boards of the United States and its territories. The FSMB promotes excellence in medical practices, licensing, and regulation. It is the national resource and voice on behalf of state medical and osteopathic boards in their efforts to protect of the public. The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) plays an important role in protecting the public from the unprofessional, improper, unlawful, fraudulent and/or incompetent practices of medical professionals. As the voice of state medical licensing and credentialing boards, the FSMB offers a variety of services and resources for the public that ensure their safety as they seek out medical care. Significantly, they keep available to the public, an extensive database that includes the professional qualifications of physicians and physician assistants licensed within the United States. Also included in the database are any disciplinary actions taken against these professionals. FSMB offers an easy-to-use physician-information service, called DocInfo. Patients and family members are encouraged to use this resource as it also provides special physician disciplinary alerts regarding any actions taken by state medical boards for impropriety. The FSMB was the first organization to publish and distribute the names of the nation's disciplined physicians. That information is now disseminated electronically via the Federation Physician Data Center (FPDC), a repository of board action and licensure data on U.S. physicians that contains thousands of disciplinary actions against physicians dating back to the 1960s. The FPDC receives regular updates from medical and osteopathic boards when they take disciplinary actions. It keeps the public informed of vital information through its DocInfo database at www.docinfo.org. Verifying the professional credentials of a physician is an essential tool to have for anyone receiving (or about to receive) medical care. This service is provided by the FEDERATION CREDENTIALS VERIFICATION SERVICE (FCVS) under the auspices of FSMB. Established in 1996, FCVS leads the way with permanent records and data security. They have created a permanent repository of primary-source verified credentials for both physicians and physician assistants. The information that is made available is extensive and includes physician identity, medical education, graduate medical education, examination history, Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates certification and disciplinary history. The above resources are invaluable when it comes to having peace of mind regarding our health care. However, they are not free and require a nominal fee in order to gain access to the information at www.docinfo.org. Author’s Biography: John Horton is President and Founder of LegitScript, and a former aide in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). After five years working for the “Drug Czar,” John Horton founded LegitScript with the intent of helping people be sure that they are buying safe and genuine prescription medication on the Internet. LegitScript, is an internet enforcement service group, that has been successfully investigating sites to determine whether or not such sites are in compliance with the law and accepted standards of medical and pharmacy practic
Related Articles -
legitscript, John Horton, legit script, Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB), legitscript John Horton,
|
