Building an Armamentarium against Physician Burnout: Value of a Medical Licensing Service

In 2019, physicians are looking for simplicity and convenience when it comes to burdensome paperwork. But, more importantly they’re looking for ways not to burnout.

A recent article published by the American Medical Association states that more than half of physicians chose “too many bureaucratic tasks” as the leading cause of burnout.^[1] So, when it comes to licensure and credentialing paperwork, medical licensing services can be a lifesaver. When you decided to go to medical school, you didn’t dream of endless hours of paperwork. You went to medical school because you had a passion for healing people.

• 80% of all U.S. medical license applications must be manually prepared
• It takes at least 3-5 hours for one physician to manually fill out one application
• Application processing time is doubled if you have a past medical malpractice claim or another reportable history
• On average, a physician may need to make at least 2 phone calls to the medical board for updates on their license status
• It can take the medical board 4-6 months to review and issue your medical license
• Most successful telemedicine physicians hold at least 2 or more medical licenses

Putting it all together, you could be spending more than 10 hours over a 6-month period just to obtain 1 or 2 medical licenses. And, this doesn’t consider the time you need to spend keeping track of each state’s CME requirements and renewals. And, if you happen to buy a new house and move? Be prepared for a paperwork exercise to change your address right away. If the Board mails you a renewal notice and it bounces back, they could take disciplinary action against your license – we’ve seen it! Physicians have had disciplinary action taken against their licenses because they failed to notify the Board within 30 days that they had moved!

Let’s also monetize this: 10 hours of your time to prepare 1-2 licenses can be $2,000-$4,000 in lost opportunity costs.

• You’re assigned a dedicated licensing specialist that doesn’t change when you change jobs
• Your licensing specialist can save you paperwork time and stress from calling the medical boards per application
• Your ROI can be over $2000 per application
• If you have multiple licenses, your licensing specialist can keep track of your renewals
• More importantly, your licensing specialist can help you strategize the CMEs you can reuse state to state and what requirements you need
• FCVS is only a piece of the paperwork pie – don’t confuse their credential management for credentialing you need to get reimbursed for your services. Totally different.

• Your dedicated licensing specialist should develop a licensing strategy with you before you make payment
• A licensing strategy should be one that is tailor made to fit your exact needs; taking into consideration all government fees and government requirements coupled with your past personal history, if any
• Once the licensing strategy is agreed upon, then you make a payment online via a secure website. Ask if your medical license service has a profile login for you and a secure website!
• It’s important to note that medical license service fees are separate from state government fees – and physician will need to pay both fees separately
• Watch out for services that offer an “expedited” license for an additional fee. This is just another gimmick to charge you more money. States operate at their own pace.

** It’s important to note that your licensing specialist can never guarantee your medical license. Only the Medical Board can make that determination to accept your application.

^[1] Berg, Aug 2018 Physician burnout: It’s not you, it’s your medical specialty (read article)