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Key Issues and Goals
Educating Congress and Health Administration Officials on the Role and Function of State Medical Boards
The Government Relations & 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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