Medical license

In most countries, only persons with a medical license bestowed either by a specified government-approved professional association or a government agency are authorized to practice medicine. Licenses are not granted automatically to all people with medical degrees. A medical school graduate must receive a license to practice medicine before he or she can be called a physician in a legal sense, a process that usually entails testing or examinations by a medical board. The medical license is the documentation of authority to practice medicine within a certain locality.

United States of America

The Federal Government does not grant licensure, but allows a medical doctor with a valid license in ANY state to practice in Federal facilities- so a doctor at the local VA may have a license from a state far away, and no license to practice in the State he/she is actually in. The practice of "tele-medicine" has made it common for doctors to consult or interpret images and information from a distant location. Most states have special licensure for this.

As with any licensure, there is an element of "prevent competetion" and the internet has made this even more important to local practitioners, whose high fees might be threatened by well-educated doctors from far away. India and Pakistan have a large number of well-trained doctors who speak and understand English, but they are largely prevented from competing in the American health care industry- by inability to be licensed. There is nothing to prevent a US based doctor with a valid license from USING these non-US, non-licensed doctors as "helpers", as long as he/she remains responsible for any work done (in his/her name).

In the United States, medical licenses are usually granted by each individual state. Only those with medical degrees from schools listed in the AVICENNA Directory for medicine or the FAIMER International Medical Education Directory ^[1] are permitted to apply for medical licensure.^[2]

The licensure process for most physicians will take 3 to 6 months due to the extensive background checks, educational, training, and historical primary source verifications which are required. One solution which many physicians have utilized is to use an expediting service. These services typically handle the set up, proofing, and submission of the applications to the various medical boards. Most will also submit and follow up with all third party, direct source verifications.

References

1. ^ "IMED - FAIMER International Medical Education Directory". Imed.ecfmg.org. http://imed.ecfmg.org/. Retrieved 2008-11-08. 
2. ^ "ECFMG 2009 Information Booklet - ECFMG Certification". Ecfmg.org. http://www.ecfmg.org/2009ib/ibcert.html#img_define. Retrieved 2008-11-08. ^{[dead link]}