Florida Board of Medicine – MD Board

The licensure process is very similar to a dance between two partners. If you know what your partner is going to do next then you can anticipate your next step. With the Florida Medical Board this is definitely the case. Of all the Boards in the United States, Florida presents one of the most difficult application processes. The term in which it takes for a physician to obtain a license in Florida will vary between 2 to 4 months depending on the Physician’s work experience, educational training and past issues. The Florida Board of Medicine does present its’ own unique issues which must be addressed by the Physician.

The Florida Board of Medicine is one of the most expensive Medical Boards for a Physician to apply. The most expensive Boards are the Florida Medical Board, California Medical Board, New Jersey Medical Board, Texas Medical Board, and Nevada Medical Board. The totality of fees going to the Florida Board of Medicine is $1231.00.

The Florida Department of Health also requires Fingerprint Cards. Because of this the process can be artificially delayed by 3 to 12 weeks. The Cards are sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to be processed. If there is a backlog on their cases delays can be expected. The Florida Doctor Board holds the cards typically a week to 4 weeks after the application is received. Then they are sent to FDLE. The application will not be presented to the Board of Medicine until the results of the Criminal Background search are received. If for any reason the cards cannot be read by the FDLE then the cards are rejected. If this happens then a new set of cards are send to the Physician to have reprinted and the process repeats itself again. This will add another 4 to 12 weeks to the licensure time. A larger percentage of horror stories with Florida concerning extended licensure periods are usually caused by rejected prints. Our firm recommends that before a physician has the cards printed at a law enforcement agency that they apply "Corn Husker’s Lotion" to their hands 3 times a day for a minimum of 7 days in advance of the printing. Corn Husker’s Lotion helps to build up the ridges on the finger pads, which are worn down from, continued washing. We also recommend that the Physician seek and find a printing facility with offers "Electronic Printing". This is a process where the fingers are scanned on a scanner and then the prints are printed onto the finger print cards. This will help to avoid smudging and thus increase the probability that the cards will be adequately read by the FDLE.

As with most other Boards, Florida verifies the Physician’s Internships, Residencies, and Fellowships along with the Physician’s Privileges directly. The Physician and/or Licensure Company are not involved in this part of the process. Unfortunately for the Physician, Florida mails out one request to the GME Office and Staff Office of the Hospital in question and then leaves it to the Hospital to follow through with their request for verification of the issue in question. Quite frequently the forms never reach the proper person or department and thus the physician’s application is never completed. Our firm actually follows up with the GME Office and Staff Offices once the first deficiency notice is delivered to the Doctor. We verify all contact information and then forward it directly to the Analyst at Florida with a request that they re-send the form to the corrected contact. Then MedLicense.com follows up with each GME and Staff Office until they have confirmed that the forms have been mailed to Florida.

The most ominous issue with the Florida Board of Medicine is the accuracy requirement concerning the content of the application. Simple mistakes on the application by the Physician will result in the Physician being ordered to appear before the Florida Board and thus guarantee a fine of $500.00 and up. Most fines run between $1000.00 to $5000.00. For multiple mistakes or omissions fines can increase to $10,000 to $50,000. These fines are generally not considered disciplinary in nature and do not go on the Physician’s permanent file. They are more revenue generating in nature. Florida does not have an income tax and thus raises revenue through tolls, fees, and fines. Once an error or omission is found by the Florida Board during the application process the doctor will need to be prepared to make travel plans to Florida.

The Board Members of the Florida Board typically approve most applications with errors and omissions. If they believe the Doctor was being deceptive then a denial can be issued. This is the worst case scenario for a physician. A Denial from One State Board has a ripple effect on all the other State Boards in which the Doctor is licensed by or applying too. At renewal the Physician will have to answer to his licensed boards as to why he was denied by the Florida Board. Many Boards will reciprocate with Florida and take action against the doctor.