This article from the Alliance for Responsible Professional Licensing sets out areas of concern related to universal licensing laws, specifically that not enough attention is given to substantial equivalence - "the trust and confidence that the qualifications underlying one state’s license are on par with those of other states." The article cites the mobility of medical professionals across state lines during the pandemic as an argument in favor of rigorous standards and substantial equivalence - the country was able to respond to the pandemic because of the "strong, consistent licensing standards [that] are a critical foundation for professions entrusted to protect the public."
May 12, 2021
March 17, 2021
Student loan servicing regulators urge state oversight
A multi-state coalition of state financial regulators have urged the new US Secretary of Education to reverse policies that interfere with states' ability to regulate student loan servicing companies. Some states require private loan servicers to obtain licenses and follow specific rules to do business in their state. One policy put in place by the former administration asserted that federal law preempts state regulation of the companies, and another allowed student loan servicers to deny states' requests for information.
December 02, 2020
UK: calls to regulate ultrasound providers
BBC investigations have reveled quality of care issues with some private clinics offering "social scanning" souvenir ultrasounds to pregnant women, as clinics often do not use qualified sonographers to perform the scans. Calls have been made for regulating ultrasound and requiring clinics to use fully-qualified sonographers. Calls have also been made to develop training for those performing "social scanning" and a two-tiered system of regulation.
August 29, 2018
UK: revalidation of nurses and midwives has positive impact
The Nursing and Midwifery Council in the UK commissioned an independent evaluation of the revalidation program. About two-thirds of nurses and midwives have revalidated with the NMC, and the recent report shows positive attitudes towards the process and a feeling of improved quality of practice. The recent evaluation suggests that revalidation is "encouraging nurses and midwives to analyse the care they give by reflecting on their practice and seeking feedback from colleagues, patients and service users. Reflective practice in particular is viewed as a likely driving force behind changing attitudes and behaviours among nurses and midwives."
June 14, 2018
England: research on medical revalidation's impact
The University of Manchester, the University of York, and Plymouth University have released a research paper on "Evaluating the development of medical revalidation in England and its impact on organisational performance and medical practice." The research was commissioned by the Department of Health's Policy Research Programme. The research finds that "the introduction of medical revalidation has fundamentally changed the way that the medical profession is regulated in the United Kingdom, creating a new tripartite relationship between the General Medical Council, organisations which employ or contract with doctors, and the medical profession (individually and collectively)." The research found that revalidation has been easier to implement in large healthcare organizations than for smaller private healthcare providers. The research also found improvements in clinical governance and clinical practice in relation to doctors where there were concerns about quality of care but less impact on improvement for doctors whose performance is good. The report recommends future tailoring of the use of revalidation to take into account specialites, work organization and prior performance.
A report has also been released by the UK Medical Revalidation Evaluation coLLAboration (UMbRELLA), to explore the impacts of revalidation during its first cycle of implementation.
October 04, 2016
National Association of Boards of Pharmacy launches .pharmacy domain
The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy has launched a redesigned website under the .pharmacy domain. Staff email addresses will also be under the .pharmacy domain. The new website provides simple straightforward navigation. NABP is the registry operator for the .pharmacy domain. Online pharmacies and pharmacy-related websites must apply for approval to use the domain and will be continually monitored by NABP to ensure that they adhere to standards. The program is overseen by the .Pharmacy Regulator Advisory Committee, the .Pharmacy Registrant/Supporter Advisory Committee, and the .Pharmacy Executive Board. NABP will work closely with regulators in each jurisdiction and national regulatory bodies to ensure compliance with international laws and standards. The goal of the initiative is to provide consumers with a "seal of quality" that they are visiting a legitimate online pharmacy.
