Applying to the Florida Medical Board

The purpose of this article is to address concerns which a physician should be aware of before applying for a Florida Medical License. The Medical Board of Florida has relaxed their process in the past 18 months to the point that it is now possible to have a Florida Medical License in 40 to 60 days. The Florida Medical Board made two changes. The first concerned the verification process. Previously, the Florida Board of Medicine sent all requests out directly to the 3rd parties being verified. This created a inefficient nightmare in which the physician or licensure company tried to act as a third party mediator between two parties. In 2006, Florida changed its' rules to allow the Physician or licensure company to send out all required verification requests. This shaved months off the licensure time. The second change took place in May 2007. Florida now allows applications to be reviewed by a Board Manager and issued internally if no negatives are present. Previously, the application had to be submitted to the full board, which met once a month. This second change now enables applications to be issued within days after they are deemed complete. Our last 5 licenses in Florida have been issued between 45 to 60 days after they were submitted to the Florida Medical Board.

What has not changed is the strict Errors and Omissions policy which the Board Enforces. Any negative information concerning the Physician's back ground which is omitted or misrepresented will result in a Mandatory Board Appearance, additional fines and penalties of $2,000 to $50,000, and possible disciplinary action against the Physician. It is imperative that the Physician answer all questions honestly and accurately on the application. Failure to do such will result in a prolonged licensure process at a minimum.

The Florida Medical License process has become very similar to that of the Medical Board of California's. Physicians which have a clean history will have a pleasant, expedited process. Those which have negatives will experience a process more comparable to that of the Texas Medical Board's.

What can a physician do to insure that his/her answers are accurate? They can order the NPDB-HIPDB (2 copies) before the process begins. Why? The NPDB-HIPDB Report provides a detailed history of all Malpractice Suits which resulted in a monetary settlement or judgment. The NPDB-HIDPB reaches back to the Mid-1980's and will have any such suit in the Physician's history from that time period to the present. The NPDB-HIDPB will also have any disciplinary issues which involve any hospital. Some times our clients do not report issue concerning their employment or privileges. If they would of reviewed the NPDB-HIPDB, they would of prevented this omission or been forced to report it.

Florida is going to receive verifications from the NPDB-HIPDB, all Hospitals where privileges are currently held, all Internships/Residency/Fellowships, all Colleges, all Medical Schools, the FSMB, the AMA, all State Medical Boards where past and present licenses are held, the FBI, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. So if any negative issues exists with any of the above, it will be reported to Florida.

We process over 300 applications a year for Physicians seeking a license in Florida.