The Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision (OSBMLS) recently launched the Uniform Application for Physician State Licensure (UA) to streamline the licensure process for Oklahoma physicians.
The Uniform Application makes it easier for physicians to become licensed in multiple states by providing a "core" application used by the 23 state medical boards using the UA. It eliminates the need for physicians to re-enter data multiple times and makes it easier for physicians to apply for licensure in multiple states. Among the benefits the UA offers Oklahoma physicians:
• Auto-populates key data, saving physicians time by eliminating the need to re-enter information multiple times.
• Information provided by physicians is stored in a permanent data repository, which is available to physicians when they apply for licensure in another of the growing number of states using the UA.
• Auto-populates credentialing data for users of the Federation Credentials Verification Service (FCVS).
"This is a huge move forward in convenience for physicians," said Lyle Kelsey, Executive Director the Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision. "Many physicians practice in multiple states, and the old process could be very tedious and cumbersome. Now it's a much simpler, faster process."
In addition, Oklahoma is the first state to implement a web-service call between the Federation Credentials Verification Service (FCVS) application form and the existing OSBMLS licensing database. The web-service allows the two systems to share information to provide a more seamless user experience.
In layman's terms, the OSBMLS system sends FSMB a Unique ID that the user provides and FSMB sends back all the info the user had entered on FSMB's application form. Approximately 70 percent of applicant data for the UA can be pre-populated when the applicant uses FCVS. As UA usage continues to grow, the number of the more than 170,000 FCVS users accessing this added convenience is expected to increase as well.
OSBMLS developed the application in collaboration with the Federation of State Medical Boards and OK.gov, Oklahoma's official website managed by the eGovernment firm, NIC Inc. (Nasdaq: EGOV).