State licensing for physicians does not play a significant role in protecting consumers and ensuring quality, according to an op-ed in The Hill by Shirley Svorny, PhD, professor of economics at California State University.
Rather, these programs confirm education and training. However, they neither indicate specialty-specific skills nor reveal physicians who put patients at risk, she wrote. According to Dr. Svorny, what actually protects consumers is the oversight from private certification boards, hospitals, HMOs, payers and medical malpractice organizations.
While benefits of state licensing programs may be overstated, Dr. Svorny writes that the costs are understated. They also limit telemedicine access and retail clinic expansion.
"Eliminating licensing of medical professionals would remove one formidable barrier to innovations that would make healthcare more accessible, affordable and valuable to consumers," Dr. Svorny wrote.
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