The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) is a national service organization representing all U.S. state medical and osteopathic boards and the medical boards of U.S. territories. The FSMB also sponsors the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) and maintains a service facilitating state medical board reports from and to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB). The FSMB can play critical roles in your licensure, license discipline, and continuing good standing as a valued medical practitioner. If you have disputes or issues involving the FSMB and the associated USMLE or NPDB, retain the Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team to help you efficiently and effectively address and resolve those disputes. Call 888.535.3686 or complete this contact form now for our highly qualified representation.
FSMB Organization
The FSMB is a nonprofit membership organization, and the members are the U.S. state and territory medical boards. The FSMB member medical boards elect the FSMB officers and board of directors, who govern the FSMB executive leadership in charge of the FSMB staff. State medical boards pay membership fees to participate in FSMB programs, gain access to FSMB resources, fund FSMB operations, and gain the right to elect FSMB officers to guide and govern the organization. The FSMB also generates revenue to support its programs and services through user fees that physicians pay when using FSMB services. While FSMB officers and directors are often physicians, the FSMB is not a professional association of physicians. The FSMB's members are not physicians. The FSMB's members are instead state medical boards.
FSMB Roles and Functions
The FSMB declares its broader mission to provide “comprehensive resources, data access, and legislative advocacy to advance and promote the work of state medical boards and support the nation's interconnected healthcare environment.” The FSMB thus represents medical licensing boards specifically and the medical profession more generally, from an institutional standpoint rather than the perspective of the individual medical practitioner. The FSMB may seem like your friend, but in practice it can become your enemy, particularly when you have a dispute with one of its member state medical licensing boards or with the USMLE or NPDB.
FSMB Physician Services
While the FSMB is primarily a service organization meeting the needs and interests of state medical licensing boards, in the course of doing so the FSMB also provides physicians with a range of services. As to physician services, FSMB identifies its mission to be “providing customer-focused solutions to physicians as they navigate the licensing and credentialing processes.” The FSMB lists these services that it provides to physicians:
- USMLE Step 3 administration;
- the Federation Credentials Verification Service (FCVS), facilitating storage and distribution of credentials information and documentation for state medical board licensure;
- a repository of comprehensive primary source data for closed programs and medical staff affiliation, including GME records;
- the Uniform Application for Licensure (UA) service, facilitating multiple medical licensing board applications;
- certification services for USMLE, SPEX, FLEX, and NBME transcripts;
- the SPEX examination for license endorsement, reinstatement, or reactivation of a license after a period of inactivity;
- the Post-Licensure Assessment System (PLAS) in partnership with the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) for assessment of physicians' clinical competence;
- the Practitioner Direct service for submission of electronic profiles to state medical boards; and
- the Pathway to Medical Licensure guide for medical licensure.
FSMB Duties and Loyalties
FSMB support and assistance can obviously be critical to obtaining or retaining your medical license. And the FSMB advertises itself as providing you with consumer services. But keep in mind in your dealings with FSMB that its services always have the dual function of certifying your qualifications for licensure to one or more of its member state medical boards. FSMB's loyalties and responsibilities are to its member state medical boards, not to you, as much as you may pay for, rely on, and hope for FSMB support and services. At best, the FSMB is a neutral party. In your dispute with one of its member state medical boards, the FSMB is not neutral, nor is it your ally. Expect it to align itself with your state medical board.
FSMB Conflicts of Interest
Do not mistake FSMB officials as your advisors and advocates. FSMB officials have conflicts of interest favoring the FSMB and the FSMB's state medical boards, when purporting to advise or represent you. Those conflicts of interest may influence FSMB officials to give you advice that serves FSMB and state medical board interests rather than your interests. Instead of relying on FSMB official advice, retain us to represent you in your dispute with the FSMB. Our loyalties are entirely toward you, not the FSMB. While our attorneys have a national reputation and relationships of trust and respect with FSMB officials and state medical board officials, they know that we are your advocate, not their ally in your dispute with the FSMB or your state medical board. We know how to deal diplomatically and productively with FSMB officials and state medical board officials to resolve your dispute. But we won't sell you short. Our reputation and practice depends on serving our physician clients well, and we are fully committed to doing so.
FSMB Relationship to the USMLE and NBME
The FSMB is one of the United States Medical Licensing Exam's two sponsors. The USMLE's other sponsor is the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME). The USMLE website states that the USMLE is “owned by” the FSMB and NBME. The USMLE indeed operates as its own organization. In practice, the FSMB lets USMLE officials know what the FSMB's member state medical boards require in the way of proof of candidates' medical knowledge and skills, while the NBME lets USMLE officials know the specific design, apportionment, and scoring of USMLE test items. If you will, the FSMB is the USMLE's brawn, while the NBME is the USMLE's brain.
FSMB Relationship to the NPDB
The FSMB and National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) are separate organizations with related missions and interests. Congress created the NPDB in 1986 with its passage of the Health Care Quality Improvement Act. The intent was to create a national clearinghouse for adverse information on licensed healthcare practitioners including physicians, facilitating state medical board licensing searches. Hospitals, law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, physician employers, government reimbursement programs, and private health plans also search the NPDB. All those entities, including state medical boards, also enter adverse action reports in the NPDB. As a service organization for the state medical boards, the FSMB thus plays a significant role in facilitating and coordinating state medical board NPDB submissions and searches.
The FSMB's Practitioner Direct Service
To carry out its role relating to the NPDB, the FSMB offers physicians its Practitioner Direct service. The FSMB asserts that its Practitioner Direct service allows you “to submit an NPDB report electronically to participating state medical boards,” with the advantage of eliminating your need “to process, receive and manually mail this report from NPDB to a board.” The FSMB further asserts that its Practitioner Direct service “will save you valuable time during your licensure process.” In the best case, the FSMB's Practitioner Direct service should indeed do so.
FSMB Administrative Errors and Issues
Unfortunately, no administrative system is perfect. Administrative systems, while intended to reduce costs and errors, inevitably introduce their own costs and errors, as you are likely well aware from your FSMB dispute. Consider this list of common FSMB issues, followed by discussion of the potential impacts of these issues and how we can help with any of these issues or other FSMB, NPDB, or USMLE issues:
FSMB Practitioner Direct Issues
- you are unable to access FSMB's Practitioner Direct service or unable to upload your credential materials for distribution;
- you have used the FSMB's Practitioner Direct service, but it has failed to distribute your credential materials as requested;
- you need to revise your FSMB Practitioner Direct materials, but FSMB officials won't allow you to do so;
- FSMB officials have distributed inaccurate information about you to your state medical board.
FSMB Issues Relating to the NPDB
- FSMB will not permit you to upload and distribute your complete NPDB report including your statement disputing its inaccuracies;
- FSMB has distributed to your state medical board an inaccurate and defamatory NPDB report;
- FSMB officials will not correct the inaccurate NPDB information they supplied to your state medical board.
FSMB Issues Relating to the USMLE
- you have qualified for the USMLE and passed USMLE step exams, but FSMB officials have indicated otherwise to your state medical board;
- FSMB officials have misreported your USMLE status or scores to your state medical board;
- FSMB officials have failed or refused to indicate your USMLE status and scores to your state medical board;
- FSMB officials have shared information with USMLE officials disqualifying you from registering for your next USMLE step exam.
FSMB Issues Relating to the FCVS
- FSMB officials have refused you access to its Federation Credentials Verification Service (FCVS);
- the FSMB's FCVS information on you is inaccurate, and FSMB officials are refusing to correct the inaccuracy;
- FSMB officials have distributed inaccurate FCVS information to your state medical board.
FSMB Issues Relating to Your State Medical Board
- your state medical board is refusing to act on your license application because it lacks complete and accurate FSMB information;
- FSMB officials are refusing to respond to your state medical board's request for information or updates;
- FSMB officials have communicated inaccurate information to your state medical board on which the board has declined your application.
FSMB Impacts on Medical Practitioners
You should see from the above list of FSMB issues how FSMB errors and omissions could adversely impact your medical licensure, practice, privileges, employment, reputation, and career. If the FSMB does not respond to your requests in a timely manner to distribute your accurate and complete credential information, your state medical board could deny your license application. You may have to reapply, costing you substantial time, trouble, and expense. You could lose job offers over license delays. You could also face embarrassment and a loss of reputation and relationships. Timing is everything in a physician's transition from medical school to residency training to permanent employment under a state medical board license. FSMB errors and omissions can delay and even ruin your career, depending on their nature and extent.
How We Help with FSMB Issues
The FSMB does not publicize a formal dispute resolution procedure for physicians adversely impacted by errors in its own services. Our attorneys know instead how to invoke informal communications, conferences, and negotiations with FSMB officials to gain their attention and to induce them to correct their errors and omissions. Sometimes, all it takes is a call, email, or other communication from one of our attorneys to an FSMB official with whom we have already had dealings on other client matters. Our reputation and relationships open doors to efficient resolutions. You may need nothing more than our appearance and intercession on your behalf. Once we make that connection, we will also know how to provide reliable documentation and attestations that will help you resolve your issue.
State Medical Board Procedures
If we cannot gain prompt and efficient relief from the FSMB, your state medical board will have its own dispute resolution procedure. Your state medical board must generally provide you with constitutional due process, meaning a fair hearing. Our attorneys know how to invoke those protective procedures to resolve your pending issues over inaccurate or incomplete FMSB, NPDB, USMLE, or other information.
Premier FMSB Representation Available
If you have issues involving the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) or the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB), retain the Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team to help you effectively address and favorably resolve those issues. We help physicians and other healthcare practitioners nationwide with licensing, FSMB, NPDB, and other issues. Call 888.535.3686 or complete this contact form now for our highly qualified representation.
