Mutual Recognition Of Physician Licensure By States Would Provide For Better Patient Care

Health Affairs May 10, 2021
Joseph M. Liss, David Peloquin, Barbara E. Bierer

The COVID-19 pandemic illuminated the importance of telemedicine and has propelled its adoption as a response to physician shortages and social isolation. A recent study found a more then 20-fold increase in telehealth visits after the pandemic began. While driven by necessity, this rapid adoption has brought clear advantages: Care became more accessible, more convenient, and safer, with greater patient ease of use and satisfaction. Many physician visits that traditionally had occurred in person were readily converted to virtual encounters, without evident sacrifice of quality or problematic outcomes.

However, the US’s state-based system of medical licensure continues to restrict access, both to broad and permanent adoption of telemedicine and to the increased flexibility of medical practice, more generally. The existing...

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