Massachusetts has a population of over 6,902,149, with more than 35,817 licensed physicians. The Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine ensures that every physician meets the minimum requirement for safety. The board is responsible for the regulation, licensing, and discipline of the physicians in Massachusetts.
The Medical Board of MA is well-known for being one of the most challenging boards to qualify for a license. It takes 3.5 to 12 months for the license to be issued. Your medical license is issued once your application files are deemed complete by the board. If the board detects any flaw or deviation in your application, there are high chances of rejection. Often, the board rejects applications that the other states would approve.
If you’re looking for an application or renewal of licenses in MA or how it works and its requirements, this article will be of help to you.
Applying for the Massachusetts Board of Medicine License
When it comes to applying for a license with the MA Medical Board, it is quite different. Before anything else, the board will first communicate with the physician. Next, regardless of your Malpractice History, you will have to issue a mandatory Malpractice certification. Every physician has to be verified directly by the Board of MA for the past ten years of Malpractice History. Often, records get destroyed, and if that’s the case, the board will hold on to the application till the documents are found, and there’s no exception.
Requirements for License
You will have to submit the following requirements for the Massachusetts Board of Medicine License Application:
- All State Medical Licenses
- One Physician Reference
- Malpractice Insurance Verifications – past 10 years
- ECFMG CVS Report
- Employment / Privileges – past 1 year
- NPDB – HIPDB Report
- All State and National Exams (FLEX/ NBOME/ USMLE/ NBME)
- All Internships/ Residency/ Fellowships
- AMA/ AOA Profile
- Medical School Transcripts
- Medical School Form
- Medical School Clinical Forms (If International)
- Fifth Pathway and ECFMG Exam Chart (If 5th Pathway)
Since the MA Medical Board has a reputation for its strict screening process, you might have to consider applying for an MA Physician license. If you took a gap or repeated the same year in medical school, your application may get rejected.
Also, once the MA denies your application, it will send a report of your license denial to NPDB. So even if you’re accepted for a license in another state, since the employers can access the NPDB report, they will think twice before they hire you.
Renewal for the Massachusetts Board of Medicine License
Physicians should comply with the state’s CME requirements to renew their medical licenses. All physicians must renew their license every two years or before their birthdays. However, the board will automatically send an email to each physician for license renewal 60 days before their birthday and assign a renewal date for their new license.
Suppose a physician can’t meet the CME requirements by the said time. In that case, a CME waiver request should be submitted along with a license renewal form to the MA Medical Board within 30 days before the renewal date.
Renew Physician Assistant License:
The license is renewed every odd year, and if your renewal application is received beyond the mentioned date, a late fine of $57 should be paid.
You must comply with the following requirements to renew your physician assistant license:
- An excellent moral character.
- Training requirements according to MA General Law, which requires a physician to obtain CME in particular subject matters.
- Completion of 100 contact hours, minimum of 40 in 1 category of their continuing education.
In addition, physician assistants should also complete CMEs in the given topics:
- Opioid antagonists and overdose prevention treatments, including addiction and risk of abuse.
- Prescription of medications in appropriate quantities.
- Effective pain management
- Providing counsel to patients effectively about the ill effects, addiction, and storage of medications prescribed.
Renewal of Physician’s License
To renew your physician’s full license, you will have to pay $600. The license is renewed after every two years. A full medical license will allow a physician to practice medicine in MA independently. The board will send a notice for renewal 2 months in advance before the expiry date.
If your license is not renewed at the said time or before your birthday, you are not allowed to practice any medicine in MA. The process is immediately available for verification once the renewal process is complete.
Types of medical licenses available in MA:
- Full License: To independently practice medicine in MA, you must have an active full license. A physician will a full license should maintain malpractice insurance and earn CPD credits. The MA Medical Board may issue a full license with restrictions on some rare occasions.
- Administrative license: This license is solely for physicians whose responsibilities are academic or administrative. The license fee is $600. The administrative license does not include permission to treat, diagnose any patients, conduct medical acts, or issue prescriptions.
- Limited License: This license is issued to physicians at a post-graduate level in medical education in teaching hospitals. Such training is done in sub-specialty clinical training, fellowship program training facility, or ACGME or AOA accredited programs. The limited license is $100, and this license is not eligible for those physicians who hold a full Massachusetts license.
- Volunteer license: This license is provided for physicians who practice medicine on construction sites and is approved by the MA Medical Board. A physician with a volunteer license should refrain from accepting compensation for their medical practice. The conditions and requirements of a full license and volunteer licensee are the same.
- Temporary license: This is a full license with a limited period of 9 months. This license is not approved when a full or limited license is in process. In MA, a temporary license is issued only for those physicians who act as a substitute in MA for 3 months or for temporary appointments certified by the dean of a medical school.