License portability is a critical issue in the field of podiatry, as it significantly impacts the ability of podiatrists to practice across different states and regions. The need for a more flexible licensing system has become increasingly apparent, especially with the rise of telehealth, the demand for timely healthcare access in underserved areas, and the unique challenges faced by military personnel and their families.
The growth of telehealth has transformed how healthcare is delivered, allowing patients to receive care remotely from the comfort of their homes. However, for podiatrists to offer telehealth services to patients across state lines, they must be licensed in each state where their patients reside. This requirement can create significant barriers to care, especially for those living in states with limited access to podiatric services. Streamlining the licensing process and enabling license portability would allow podiatrists to provide essential care to more patients, regardless of their location, thereby improving overall healthcare outcomes.
Many regions, particularly rural and underserved communities, experience a shortage of healthcare providers, including podiatrists. By making it easier for podiatrists to practice in multiple states, license portability can help bridge the gap in access to care. This would allow podiatrists to serve in areas with the greatest need, expanding their reach and providing much-needed services to populations that may otherwise go without specialized care.
For podiatrists, including those who are part of military families, license portability offers significant benefits by promoting professional mobility and career growth. Military families often face frequent relocations, which can disrupt their careers due to the need for re-licensure in each new state. A system that supports license portability would enable these professionals to continue practicing without interruption, and maintaining their career trajectory.
Building upon its track record of collaboration with Licensing Boards to address licensure barriers, FPMB is leveraging past successes to advance telemedicine provision across state lines. The creation of an Interstate Podiatric Medical License Compact (Compact) is a strategic avenue to further reduce statutory and regulatory barriers to telemedicine by enhancing the portability of podiatric physicians' licenses. This Compact is modeled after the existing Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC) that currently has participation of 42 jurisdictions that license and regulate allopathic (MD) and osteopathic (DO) physicians. The IMLC is overseen by the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Commission (IMLCC). FPMB has established a memorandum of understanding with the IMLCC, securing their support in providing technological infrastructure and administrative assistance for the successful implementation of this Compact.
Recognizing the evolving landscape of healthcare delivery and the imperative to strengthen access to care, the Compact aims to provide a streamlined pathway for podiatric physicians to obtain licenses in multiple states. Furthermore, the Compact adheres to the prevailing standards for licensure and emphasizes that the practice of podiatric medicine is governed by the location of the patient during the physician-patient encounter. As such, it mandates that podiatric physicians operate under the jurisdiction of the Licensing Board in the patient's location. Additionally, Licensing Boards participating in the Compact retain the authority to take disciplinary action against a podiatric physician's license issued within their jurisdiction through the processes outlined in the Compact.
In June 2024, FPMB received a federal grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), part of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS). This grant will support the development and implementation of the Interstate Podiatric Medical Licensure Compact over a five-year period, from July 2024 to June 2029.
The purpose of the LPGP is to provide support for state professional licensing boards to carry out programs under which licensing boards of various states cooperate to develop and implement state laws and related policies that will reduce statutory and regulatory barriers to telehealth.
Telehealth is defined by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as the use of electronic information and telecommunication technologies to support long-distance clinical health care, patient and professional health-related education, health administration and public health. Technologies include video conferencing, the internet, store-and-forward imaging, streaming media, and terrestrial and wireless communications.
This grant aligns with HRSA’s goals of fostering a health care workforce to address current and emerging needs, improving access to quality physical health and behavioral health services, achieving health equity, and enhancing population health. Promoting equity is essential to HRSA’s mission of protecting the health of Americans and providing essential human services.
Telehealth expanded over the past decades and experienced significant growth during and since the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. Coordinating care improved with the advancement and role of technology. Through telehealth technologies, a health care professional may deliver care from a distant site in a separate state from the patient’s originating site. This wide reach allowed telehealth to emerge as a promising modality for increasing physical health and behavioral health care access, especially in rural areas and communities with workforce shortages.
While telehealth has the capacity to facilitate the delivery of health care over long distances, there may be statutory or regulatory barriers to delivering care across state lines. Licensure policies may differ from state to state, and individual states may require a license in the state where the patient is located. To address this, this program seeks to support innovative multi-state collaborations that will enable licensed health care professionals to provide telehealth across states (i.e., licensure portability).
For additional information, please contact Jay S. LeBow, DPM, IPMLC Primary Contact, at ipmlc@fpmb.org or call 202-810-3762.
NOTICE: The Health Resources and Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services provided financial support for this Licensure Portability Grant Program project. The award provided 91% of total costs and totaled $750,000. The contents are those of the author. They may not reflect the policies of the Department of Health and Human Services or the U.S. government.