Tag:

public health

Dealing with 71 Medical Licensure Boards: American Doctors Trip Over State Lines

In April 2013, members of the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) and the Council of State Governments (CSG) embarked on a venture to create the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (the Compact or IMLC), a voluntary, expedited pathway to licensure for qualified physicians who wish to practice medicine in multiple states. On April 20, 2017, the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Commission, (IMLCC) issued its first Interstate Medical License to a Wisconsin physician who applied to practice in Colorado, setting a groundbreaking precedent in medical licensure portability. While the IMLC is a great first step toward increasing access to healthcare by expanding licensure portability, this initiative faces multiple regulatory hurdles.

Insurance Plans and Opioids: Releasing and Raising the Barriers to Prescribe

With the opioid addiction epidemic continuing to rise in the United States, several insurance companies loosened the existing barriers to addiction treatment. Aetna Insurance Company joined Cigna and Anthem in removing key provisions in its insurance plans that require additional authorization prior to providing addiction treatment. At the same time, Cigna proposed to strengthen barriers to physician prescribing of opioids in an attempt to further address the opioid epidemic.

Detroit Receiving Hospital, an affiliation of Detroit Medical Center Allegedly Used Contaminated Surgical Equipment

Fannie Fang Executive Editor Loyola University Chicago School of Law, JD 2017   On September 15, 2016, Michigan state regulators cited the Detroit Medical Center (“DMC”) for violating the State’s Public Health Code for failing to properly sterilizing surgical instruments. Although DMC promised to address the issue with correction actions, the violation has left an …
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