Thursday, November 21, 2024
11/21/2024
The Federation of State Medical Boards is a national non-profit association representing the 70 state medical and osteopathic boards of the U.S., its Territories and the District of Columbia. The FSMB is submitting this grant proposal to support continuation and expansion of the following projects that have been funded through the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, License Portability Grant Program. 1) License portability for physician assistants/associates (PAs) through the implementation of the PA Licensure Compact; 2) Expanding the number of states adopting the PA Licensure Compact; 3) Expanding the number of health professionals and entity registrants in Provider Bridge; and 4) Expanding Provider Bridge to include additional health professions, with a priority on mental/behavioral health professionals. There are currently ~180,000 certified PAs who practice in in every U.S. jurisdiction, medical setting and specialty and many are engaging in telemedicine and otherwise practicing across state lines. In 2019, FSMB received funding under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Licensure Portability Grant Program to pursue a licensure model to facilitate multi-state practice and expand PAs role in providing telehealth services. The FSMB, in collaboration with the American Academy of PAs (AAPA), the Council of State Governments (CSG) National Center for Interstate Compacts, and the National Commission for Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA), spearheaded the development of the PA Licensure Compact. The PA Licensure Compact model legislation was finalized in December 2022 and has now been adopted in Delaware, Nebraska, Utah, Wisconsin, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia, reaching the 7 state requirement to activate the Compact. Grant funds are now needed to establish the governance, administrative, and technical infrastructure to implement and operationalize the PA Licensure Compact. The FSMB will leverage its successful experience with the development and implementation of the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact which is now made up of 40 states, Guam and the District of Columbia and has issued ~98,000 medical licenses via the IMLC process. The FSMB seeks funding to increase the number of registrants in the Provider Bridge platform by raising awareness among physicians, PAs, health professional associations and compacts, federal and state emergency preparedness entities, hospitals, and telemedicine providers. Funding will allow the FSMB to build upon the successful efforts to date to raise awareness among physicians, nurses and PAs and now seeks to expand the platform to additional health professionals, with a priority to include mental/behavioral health providers. Provider Bridge was launched in 2021in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and provides the issuance of a verified digital credential that can be accepted by hospitals, clinics, state health departments, and other entities seeking to mobilize health professionals for emergency purposes. To date, there are 254,644 nurses, physicians, and PAs registered in Provider Bridge and 77 registered entities. The number of registered providers increased 149% since July 1, 2022.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
