As a whole, the healthcare industry is struggling with physician shortages. Healthcare organizations are developing new strategies and care models to address this challenge, ensuring patients have access to the care they need. One area that many caregivers and hospitals use to combat physician shortages—Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC).
What does that mean for clinicians?
IMLC speeds up and streamlines the licensure process for physicians practicing in multiple states. This is a huge benefit for physicians who provide services through telemedicine and for facilities that need to use these virtual services to improve patient care.
But there are challenges for physicians. For one, it is not a universal compact across the entire country, which creates limitations on where IMLC is applicable. Even within the 31 states that have enacted the compact licensure legislations, there are some states where the benefits are not in full force due to issues with FBI background checks. The IMLC Commission keeps up a map that helps explain what states currently participate.
The bottom line—it’s complicated.
But it shouldn’t be for physicians.
Physicians got into medicine to deliver care to patients and make a difference in their community, not to spend hours monitoring various state legislatures or combing through the minutia of licensure variations between states. It is not a good use of a physician’s time.
That’s where finding an expert can make a difference in the physician experience. An experienced LocumTenens.com associate can start physicians on the right path and supply them with valuable insights, including:
- What states are included in the IMLC
- What is needed to apply
- The rules around SPLs
- The timeframe from application to licensure
- When to reapply to keep IMLC licensure active
Those are just a few things to consider when thinking about utilizing IMLC. It can be a complex process and a physician’s individual situation should be taken into account to maximize the benefits. IMLC provides a great opportunity for locum tenens physicians to reach more patients in more areas, but it is not something physicians have to decipher alone.
LocumTenens.com wants to help you walk through IMLC and practice where you want to practice. We have a resource page with additional information that may answer some of your questions. We are happy to work with you individually to make the IMLC process simple and transparent.
