Federation of State Medical Boards

The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) is an American membership organization based in Euless, Texas. It has a second office in Washington, D.C.

History

Inception

FSMB was founded in 1912.1)

International expansion

In May 1994, the FSMB, under contract with the United States Department of Health and Human Services, planned and hosted the 1st International Conference on Medical Regulation in Washington, D.C. Participants included representatives of Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States. Observers attended from Egypt, Israel, Mexico and Taiwan.2)

Designed to initiate dialogue among the attendees, the conference focused on the status of medical regulation in participating nations, examined current research on topical subjects and identified emerging research needs. The attendees concluded that regulatory issues are not unique to any one nation (a sentiment that holds true today) and decided to hold a second conference in Australia in 1996. That began a pattern of biennial conferences that continues to this day, albeit disrupted in 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In September 2000, medical regulatory authorities from Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, the UK and the USA formed the International Association of Medical Licencing Authorities, which was formally incorporated in 2004 in the State of Texas as the International Association of Medical Regulatory Authorities (IAMRA).

The IAMRA Secretariat continues to be supported by the FSMB, including sharing an office and phone number.3)

COVID-19

In July 2021, FSMB released a statement addressing what it described as the “dissemination of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation and disinformation by physicians and other healthcare professionals on social media platforms, online and in the media,” going so far as to recommend disciplinary action and state policy changes.4) 5) The FSMB warned physicians they could risk “disciplinary action by state medical boards, including the suspension or revocation of their medical license.” The American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Family Medicine subsequently issued a joint statement supporting the FSMB’s position.6)

Organization

Since its inception, the FSMB has been staffed with members who presently or previously held positions with other medical governing bodies.7)

Leadership

Board of Directors8)
Name Position Affiliation
Sarvam TerKonda Chair Florida
Jeffrey Carter Chair-elect Missouri
Jone Geimer-Flanders Treasurer Hawaii
Kenneth Simons Immediate Past Chair Wisconsin
Humayun Chaudhry Secretary; President and CEO -
Directors-at-Large and Staff Fellows
George Abraham - Massachusetts
Andrea Anderson - Washington, D.C.
Edward Cousineau - Nevada
Maroulla Gleaton - Maine
Lyle Kelsey - Oklahoma
Shawn Parker - North Carolina
Denise Pines - California
Katie Templeton - Oklahoma
Barbara Walker - North Carolina
Joseph Willett - Minnesota
Mark Woodland - Pennsylvania
Executive Staff
Humayun Chaudhry President and CEO -
Michael Dugan Chief Operating Officer -
Eric Fish Chief Legal Officer -
David Johnson Chief Assessment Officer -
Todd Phillips Chief Financial Officer -
Lisa Robin Chief Advocacy Officer -
FSMB Foundation Board of Directors9)
Name Position
Janelle Rhyne President
Randal Manning Vice President
Ralph Loomis Treasurer
Humayan Chaudhry Secretary
Jeffrey Carter Director
Claudette Dalton Director
Kathleen Haley Director
Arthur Hengerer Director
Patricia King Director
Sarvam TerKonda Director

Membership

Membership in the federation is made up of state and territorial medical boards across the United States.10)

Foundation

The FSMB runs its own foundation that functions as a separate 501©(3) organization but is supported by a “generous seed endowment” from the FSMB.11) The FSMB foundation’s website does not disclose its donors.

Starting in 2013, the foundation has hosted an annual luncheon which has raised thousands of dollars to support Foundation activities.12) In April 2022, the foundation held its 10th Anniversary luncheon.

COVID-19

In March 2021, the FSMB Foundation awarded four organizations a total of $100,000 in grant funding for projects to study the way states and health systems have responded to health care impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The long-term goal of the FSMB Foundation COVID-19 grants program is to support the development and implementation of sustainable models and policies that can guide state preparedness and responses to similar emergencies in the future, as well as their capacity for recovery planning. The program also intends to “promote health equity and reduce disparities in health care.” The recipients of the 2021 grants include the Associated Medical Schools of New York (AMSNY), HonorHealth Foundation, Ohio Physicians Health Program (OPHP) and the Center for Connected Health and the Public Health Institute.

1)
About FSMB. Federation of State Medical Boards. Retrieved September 24, 2022, from https://www.fsmb.org/about-fsmb/
2)
History. International Association of Medical Regulatory Authorities. Retrieved September 16, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20220916222429/https://www.iamra.com/history
3)
Reid, A., Staz, M., & Chaudhry, H. J. (2021). Regulatory authorities and continuing education around the world: Adapting to COVID-19. Journal of European CME, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/21614083.2021.2014095
4)
FSMB: Spreading COVID-19 Vaccine Misinformation May Put Medical License at Risk. (2021, July 29). Federation of State Medical Boards. https://archive.ph/lvelj
5) , 7)
Burdick, S. (2022, September 16). Federation of State Medical Boards Attacks Physicians Over COVID “Misinformation.” Principia Scientific Intl. https://archive.ph/WDkZ3
6)
Newton, W., Baron, R. J., & Nichols, D. G. (2021, September 8). Joint Statement on Dissemination of Misinformation. ABIM Foundation. https://archive.ph/smocQ
8)
Leadership. Federation of State Medical Boards. Retrieved September 24, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20220924080002/https://www.fsmb.org/about-fsmb/fsmb-leadership/
9)
Leadership. Federation of State Medical Boards. Retrieved September 25, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20220925025407/https://www.fsmb.org/fsmb-foundation/leadership/
10)
Contact a State Medical Board. Federation of State Medical Boards. Retrieved September 24, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20220924074101/https://www.fsmb.org/contact-a-state-medical-board/#bodyTop
11)
The FSMB Foundation. Federation of State Medical Boards. Retrieved September 24, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20220924074300/https://www.fsmb.org/fsmb-foundation/the-fsmb-foundation/
12)
FSMB Foundation Highlights. Federation of State Medical Boards. Retrieved September 24, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20220924074248/https://www.fsmb.org/fsmb-foundation/foundation-highlights/
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