Federation of State Medical Boards Credentialing Service Safeguards Your Professional Records

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From AAPA News December 15, 2006

By JOE TOUSCHNER

In the days after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, Louisiana PAs were busy caring for the sick and injured. They likely gave little thought to the files and computer equipment of the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners, which sat in the floodwaters of New Orleans. But those paper and computer files contained important information on the license status and other professional credentials of Louisiana PAs.

The personal records of many PAs were also destroyed or were inaccessible. The inaccessibility of these documents added to the chaos of the situation as Louisiana PAs sought to verify their license status to other states’ medical boards as they moved across the country, displaced from their jobs. 

Fortunately, the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) provided license verification for Louisiana physicians and PAs through its Web site. One of the many lessons learned from Louisiana’s experience is the necessity of safeguarding your important professional records — and FSMB can help you do so, just as it helped the Louisiana board. Not every PA will face the devastation of a major hurricane, but smaller-scale disasters like a house fire or even a broken water pipe can ruin important documents.

FSMB offers a credentials verification service to PAs that both protects against catastrophes and eases the process of applying for credentials from a new hospital or a license from a new state. The Federation Credentials Verification Service (FCVS) creates a permanent, primary-source-verified record of your important professional documents. This service can save you the effort of re-creating inaccessible records or tracking down documents from multiple sources each time you need to provide evidence of your professional credentials, such as transcripts, test scores, and postgraduate training.

So how does it work? You can initiate the service by paying a $145 fee and submitting an application. Then FCVS analysts work to verify all the documents in your

portfolio by contacting the source of each document. They verify identity, education and training, and examination and disciplinary history. This can take four to six weeks, but once it’s done, the documents are verified permanently. The FCVS profile can be used throughout your career as a one-stop source for verification of credentials.  For an additional $35 fee, your profile can be sent to licensing boards or hospital credentialing committees to authenticate your credentials.

A growing number of state licensing boards, currently 23, accept FCVS profiles as primary source verification of a PA’s documents.  The Virgin Islands, in fact, requires the use of FCVS for licensure as a PA. Even if you’re not planning to move to a new state or change jobs soon, FCVS can provide reassurance in case a calamity strikes that box of important documents in your closet, your state’s medical board offices, or your alma mater. FCVS can ensure that you’ll still have access to your diplomas, exam results, and other core credentials.

Questions about FCVS can be directed to AAPA State Government Affairs staff at 703/836-2272, ext. 3201 or 3212; ann@aapa.org or jtouschner@aapa.org.  Additional information and applications are available at the Federation of State Medical Boards Web site, www.fsmb.org.