Healthcare Daily: The Generation Gap is Coming

Forney Fleming, December 9, 2013

The winds of change for our healthcare system are blowing at a gale force. The issues of excessive cost, mediocre quality, and limited access must be addressed, although it is not economically possible to address all three at the same time. Forces for change are coming from multiple areas, including payers, providers, patients and the government. Included in the forces of change are the young physicians who are members of the generational groups known as Generation X and Generation Y. In addition to the changing gender make-up of physicians (one-half of current medical school students are female) the future leaders of the medical profession represent a generation gap from their Baby Boomer Generation predecessors.

Read more at Dallas/Fort Worth Healthcare Daily.

FSMB: State Medical Board Leaders Make Progress Towards an Interstate Compact for Physician Licensure

On November 26, FSMB reported that "...state medical board representatives from around the country announced today that they have moved closer to a new option for medical licensing that would speed up the process of issuing licenses for physicians who wish to practice in multiple states."

"During a two-day meeting hosted by the Federation of State Medical Boards in Washington, D.C., Nov. 12-13, state board executives and policy experts continued to work out key details of the proposed system, known as the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact. Under the new system, physicians interested in practicing in multiple states would be able to receive a license in each state and be under the jurisdiction of the state medical board where the patient is located at the time of the medical interaction."

Read more from FSMB.