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Simplifying Physician Licensing Across State Lines Will Promote the Expansion of Affordable Healthcare Delivered via Telemedicine

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Simplifying Physician Licensing Across State Lines Will Promote the Expansion of Affordable Healthcare Delivered via Telemedicine

September 13, 2019

Simplifying Physician Licensing Across State Lines Will Promote the Expansion of Affordable Healthcare Delivered via Telemedicine

Technology has changed the way we live, work and play; its widespread adoption continues growing at a rapid rate, and its improving affordability makes it possible for much of the U.S. population to be connected electronically. The physician demographic is shrinking, and by 2025, physician supply is expected to be in crisis with a shortage of as many as 90,000 doctors. At the same time, wait times to see a physician are increasing, due in large part to growing demand as baby boomers age and chronic diseases become more prevalent. Technological advances in health information technology and video-conferencing make diagnosis, treatment and management of healthcare remotely possible. 

Physician licensure is managed by each individual state medical board, and the constitution gives the state its police power to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of its population. It is both expensive and time consuming and on average it can take four to six months. Promoting widespread use of telemedicine involves better defining what it encompasses within the practice of medicine, thereby allowing for special licensing of practitioners seeking to engage across state lines.  The Veterans Administration, Medicare and Medicaid have developed telehealth programs in order to expand and afford coverage in gap areas, and the federal government is better suited to develop telemedicine licensure guidelines and standardize the process for interstate commerce. Congress has ultimate power to control commerce, as granted by the Constitution, irrespective of the size or volume of the market. As a result, physician licensure for telemedicine should be administered by the federal government, so that simplifying physician licensing across state lines will promote the expansion of affordable healthcare delivered via telemedicine.

The full commentary can be downloaded below.  

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