Florida Board
of Medicine – MD Board
The Florida Medical Board has
changed the examination requirements for MD's. In the past the
Florida Board had a Seven Year Limit on passing all 3 Steps of the
USMLE. Recently the Board changed the rule to No Limits on
Attempts and No Limits on the number of years it took to pass all
3 Steps of the USMLE. The Michigan Medical Board, Wyoming Medical
Board, New York Medical Board, and the Florida Medical Board are the only Boards that have no
limits on attempts and no limits on Years.
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.
Florida offers many challenges and
obstacles to the Doctor. The key with Florida
is for the Doctor to insure that his/her application is 100%
accurate before it is submitted to the Board.
If the Physician does not take time to insure that his/her
information is correct then the Physician will be bringing
problems upon him/herself in the months following the submission
of the Florida Medical
Application.