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ADVOCACY, GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS & POLICY
Advocacy, Key Issues and Goals
The Advocacy, Government Affairs and Policy Department monitors legislation and administrative rules affecting regulation of the practice of medicine and state medical boards in each of the 50 states and at the federal level. Staff uses a national bill tracking service to assist in identifying and tracking state legislation of interest to state medical boards and the Federation. Efforts are made to facilitate communication among states dealing with similar issues. Frequently, the Federation is able to assist member boards in presenting issues to their state legislatures through letters of support or opposition, research materials, legislative language, written testimony, etc.
Please click on any of the following issues to find a summary of Legislation and a comprehensive chart relating to the issue.
Educating Congress and Health Administration Officials on the Role and Function of State Medical Boards
The Government Affairs & Policy Department at FSMB is always striving to educate legislators and officials from various government agencies on the important roles that state medical boards play in protecting the public by improving the quality, safety and integrity of health care through high standards for physician licensure and practice. FSMB staff and BKSH regularly meet with officials from government agencies and Congressional leaders to educate legislators and officials on the function and structure of state medical boards as well as the rationale for state-based regulation of medicine and to discuss the Federation′s legislative agenda and promote our model polices.
Telehealth
Telehealth services comprise a variety of technologies, including telemedicine, telephone triage, e-health, and medical practice on the Internet. These services provide the rural areas of the United States with a vehicle for upgraded medical care to underserved small communities who might not have access to regular and specialty care.
Public Law 107-251, the Health Care Safety Net Act of 2002, authorized incentive grants for state licensing boards to carry out programs under which such licensing boards cooperate to develop and implement state policies to reduce barriers to telemedicine. In 2004 the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth (OAT) convened a meeting of the Federation of State Medical Boards and two regional groups of states to design multi-state telehealth demonstration projects that could improve license portability and facilitate multi-state medical practice through telehealth services.
FSMB staff and the Washington, DC lobbying firm BKSH are working with legislators to develop strategies to secure funding in the FY 2006 Labor, HHS, Education Appropriations bills to fund the state licensure incentive grants in telehealth.
The Ryan Haight Internet Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2005
The Ryan Haight Internet Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2005 was introduced in March 2005 by Congressmen Tom Davis (R-Va) and Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Senators Norm Coleman (R-MN) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). This bipartisan legislation would shut down dangerous domestic Internet sites that sell or dispense pharmaceuticals without a valid prescription. The legislation responds to the growing sale of prescription drugs over the Internet without a valid prescription by (1) providing for new disclosure standards for Internet pharmacies; (2) barring Internet sites from selling or dispensing prescription drugs to consumers who are provided a prescription solely on the basis of an online questionnaire; and (3) allowing state attorneys general to go to federal court to shut down rogue sites.
The bill is named after Ryan Haight, an 18-year-old honor student from La Mesa, California who died of an overdose from prescription drugs obtained on the Internet. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. Americans of all ages have discovered that with a few clicks of the mouse they can obtain powerful drugs, including controlled substances, from rogue Internet pharmacies without ever having a medical exam or speaking with a physician.
The increasing incidence of Internet Web sites that allow consumers to obtain prescription medications without the existence of a bona fide physician-patient relationship poses an immediate threat to public health and safety. The enactment of this bill will support efforts to contain the growing problem of prescription drug abuse in this country and will provide significant protection for consumers who legitimately use the Internet to obtain pharmaceuticals. FSMB staff and BKSH are working with legislators and member boards to ensure that this important legislation is enacted and the public is protected.
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