| Calling all DOs in Illinois…
Online Licensure Verification
Have you verified your information for the State yet?
The Board Certifications section of the State’s online licensure
information verification system caused an up-roar among DOs who attempted to verify their
information in the first week of the online program (week of September 10th). The survey designers
assumed that all board certifications came through allopathic, or ABMS, specialty boards, and so
created a system that defaulted to the allopathic board name for each specialty. The Illinois
Osteopathic Medical Society, and the state Division of Professional Regulation, were deluged with
irate DOs who are justly proud of their osteopathic board certifications!
To the credit of the Division, their leadership immediately
responded to the concerns of our osteopathic community. After a few false starts, with help from
your Illinois Osteopathic Medical Society the Division revamped its board certification section to
more accurately reflect that DOs may earn one or more board certifications in either or both
osteopathic and allopathic fields.
“We want to thank the Illinois Osteopathic Medical Society for its
hard work and careful review of the new physician profile system. We are one step closer to meeting
our mutual goal of providing the public with accurate, up-to-date information about Illinois
licensed physicians,” said Daniel E. Bluthardt, Director of the Illinois Division of Professional
Regulation.
By November 15, 2007, all physicians in Illinois are required to
log on to a special website set up by the State of Illinois Division of Professional Regulation:
http://www.idfpr.com/applications/ProfessionProfile/
ProfileUpdateMain.aspx. Once there, follow the online instructions to fill out, at minimum, the
information required. This new program will make physician information available on a central
State-run database. The site, not yet public, will become available to the general public sometime
between November 16, 2007 and January 1, 2008.
Where did this program come from? In 2005, the Legislature passed
professional liability insurance reform that included a mandate to make information about
physicians and chiropractors available to the public. The information – specifically for the most
recent five years only – includes:
- medical malpractice judgments and settlements,
- any disciplinary action history in Illinois or other states,
- felony convictions or Class A misdemeanors, and
- any restrictions of hospital privileges.
In addition, physicians are asked to include their office locations and hours; hospital
affiliations; participation levels for Medicare, Medicaid, Illinois All Kids Program, and private
insurance plans; and other demographic information about your practice. The demographic
information includes: number of years in practice in Illinois, where you attended medical school
and did your postgraduate training, and – as noted above - any Board certifications.
If you have not already reviewed and verified your profile, do so
now. Verification is mandatory and it’s expected that there will be penalties for non-compliance.
If you have any questions that we can help you with, please contact IOMS Executive Director
Elizabeth Forkins Harano in care of IOMS headquarters at (312) 202-8174 or
IOMS@IOMS.org.
Respectfully submitted,
Elizabeth Forkins Harano
Executive Director
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