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{{Short description|
{{Use American English|date=March 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Medical law sidebar}}
A '''medical license''' is an [[Occupational licensing|occupational license]] that permits a person to legally practice [[medicine]].
A professional may have their license removed due to if they are not deemed [[Fitness to practise|fit to practise]], such as due to a lack of competence, health reasons, or [[Medical ethics|ethical violations]].<ref>{{Cite journal|
▲A '''medical license''' is an [[Occupational licensing|occupational license]] that permits a person to legally practice [[medicine]]. Most nations require such a license, bestowed either by a specified government-approved [[professional association]] or a [[government agency]]. Licenses are not granted automatically to all people with [[medical school|medical degree]]s. A medical school graduate must receive a license to practice medicine to legally be called a [[physician]]. The process typically requires testing by a medical board. The medical license is the documentation of authority to practice [[medicine]] within a certain locality. An active license is also required to practice medicine as an [[Assistant Physician]], a [[Physician assistant]] or a [[Clinical officer]] in jurisdictions with authorizing legislation.
▲A professional may have their license removed due to if they are not deemed [[Fitness to practise|fit to practise]], such as due to a lack of competence, health reasons, or [[Medical ethics|ethical violations]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Horsley|first=Tanya|last2=Lockyer|first2=Jocelyn|last3=Cogo|first3=Elise|last4=Zeiter|first4=Jeanie|last5=Bursey|first5=Ford|last6=Campbell|first6=Craig|date=2016-04-01|title=National programmes for validating physician competence and fitness for practice: a scoping review|url=https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/6/4/e010368|journal=BMJ Open|language=en|volume=6|issue=4|pages=e010368|doi=10.1136/bmjopen-2015-010368|issn=2044-6055|pmid=27084276}}</ref>{{Rp|page=6}} The license will limit a professionals [[scope of practice]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=White|first=Debbie|last2=Oelke|first2=Nelly|last3=Besner|first3=Jeanne|last4=Doran|first4=Diane|last5=Hall|first5=Linda|last6=Giovannetti|first6=Phyllis|date=2008-03-15|title=Nursing Scope of Practice: Descriptions and Challenges|url=http://www.longwoods.com/content/19690|journal=Nursing Leadership|volume=21|issue=1|pages=44–57|doi=10.12927/cjnl.2008.19690}}</ref>
== Canada ==
Canada requires that applicants have graduated from a school registered in the [[World Directory of Medical Schools]], and apply to sit the ''[[
===Criticism===
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==China==
Medical practitioners in China
==Colombia==
{{More citations needed section|date=October 2022}}
The Instituto Colombiano para el Fomento de la Educación Superior (ICFES) and the Ministry of Education regulate the medical schools that are licensed to offer medical degrees. After completing all the schools' requirements to obtain a medical degree, physicians must serve the "obligatory social service" (in rural areas, research, public health or special populations e.g., orphan children), which usually lasts one year. After completing the social service, a doctor obtains a "medical registration" at the governor's office (Gobernación) of the Department (province/state) where they served the obligatory term. This registration is the same as a license in other countries, and authorizes the physician to practice medicine anywhere in the national territory. However, to practice in other departments requires an inscription from that department. Unlike the US, there is no official licensing exam for medical graduates in Colombia, since this responsibility is delegated to medical schools that have permission to confer medical degrees.
==Germany<!--'Approbation (Germany)'-->==
In Germany, licensing of doctors ("Approbation") is the responsibility of the state governments. Licensed doctors are compulsory members of "Ärztekammern" (literally: "Physician chambers"), which are medical associations organized on state level. Criteria for licensing of doctors are regulated in the
Physicians who have not studied medicine in Germany, among others, must prove their language skills by means of a German B2 certificate and a successfully completed Fachsprachprüfung. In addition, doctors who have not studied in the EU, EEA or Switzerland must prove that their studies are equivalent. For this purpose, they usually have to pass a Kenntnisprüfung (''test of competence'').<ref>"[https://approbatio.de/approbation-for-foreign-doctors-in-germany/ Approbation for foreign doctors in Germany]". www.approbatio.de (in German). Retrieved 15 September 2021.</ref>
==India==
In India, certification requires that a medical school graduate pass the final MBBS examination and undergo a one
The MCI Ethics Committee observed in a meeting held on September 2, 2004, that, "There is no necessity of registration in more than one state medical council because any doctor, who has registered with any state medical council is automatically registered in the Indian Medical Register and also by virtue of Section 27 of the IMC Act, 1956, a person, whose name is included in the IMR, can practice anywhere in India." The Registered Doctors with various State Medical Councils across India up to the year 2019 can be checked in the
==UK==
The term "Medical License" is US-centric terminology. In the UK and in other [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] countries the analogous instrument is called registration; i.e., being on the register or being/getting struck off (the register). The [[General Medical Council]] is the regulatory body for doctor's licensing in the UK. Currently, there are two types of basic registration: "Provisional Registration" and "Full Registration", and two types of specialty registration: "Specialist Registration" and "GP registration".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gmc-uk.org/information_for_you/registration_factsheet.asp#Types |title=General information about registration and licensing |publisher=[[General Medical Council]] |access-date=29 October 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020192530/http://www.gmc-uk.org/information_for_you/registration_factsheet.asp#Types |archive-date=20 October 2017 }}</ref> In November 2009, the GMC introduced the "licence to practise", and it is required by law that to practice medicine in the UK, all doctors must be registered and hold a license to practice.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gmc-uk.org/doctors/licensing.asp|title=The licence to practise|website=www.gmc-uk.org|language=en|access-date=2018-01-04|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171112214630/https://www.gmc-uk.org/doctors/licensing.asp|archive-date=2017-11-12}}</ref> The registration information for all doctors holding
==United States==
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===History===
The [[Tenth Amendment to the United States
The [[American Medical Association]] when formed in 1847, proposed that the state legislate medicine (rather than each of the different medical schools). Horowitz argues that this suggestion was made in order to gain greater control over medical education.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=38}}▼
In the 1870s, almost all U.S. physicians were still unlicensed.<ref name="PMC2701151">{{Cite journal|pmc = 2701151|year = 2009|last1 = Sandvick|first1 = C.|title = Enforcing Medical Licensing in Illinois: 1877-1890|journal = The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine|volume = 82|issue = 2|pages = 67–74|pmid = 19562006}}</ref>
▲The [[American Medical Association]] when formed in 1847, proposed that the state legislate medicine (rather than each of the different medical schools). Horowitz argues that this suggestion was in order to gain greater control over medical education.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=38}}
In 1877, the Illinois legislature passed the Illinois medical licensing law, which led to the aggressive prosecution of physicians that were perceived as illegal or unethical.<ref name = PMC2701151/> Medical boards of other states (often composed of both regular and irregular physicians) followed suit.<ref name = PMC2701151/> Some authors claim that these efforts allowed organized regular and irregular physicians to exclude not only fraudulent practitioners, but
▲In the 1870s, almost all U.S. physicians were still unlicensed.<ref name="PMC2701151">{{Cite journal|pmc = 2701151|year = 2009|last1 = Sandvick|first1 = C.|title = Enforcing Medical Licensing in Illinois: 1877-1890|journal = The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine|volume = 82|issue = 2|pages = 67–74|pmid = 19562006}}</ref> So-called "regular", physicians were typically educated in American medical schools and earned medical degree M.D. The "irregulars" typically fit into two distinct sects: Homeopaths or Eclectics.<ref name="sects">Sandvick, Clinton, (2016). "What was the dominant medical sect in the United States during the 19th Century?" DailyHistory.org. https://dailyhistory.org/What_was_the_dominant_medical_sect_in_the_United_States_during_the_19th_Century%3F</ref> Homeopaths were physicians that were trained to practice a medical system known as [[Homeopathy]] that was developed by [[Samuel Hahnemann]]. Eclectics physicians also attended medical schools, but their practice mixed [[Samuel Thomson|Thomsonsianism]] and some regular medical practice. Each of these sects was organized into both national and state medical societies across the United States.<ref name="sects" />
In 1889, ''[[Dent v. West Virginia]]'',<ref>{{cite
▲In 1877, the Illinois legislature passed the Illinois medical licensing law, which led to the aggressive prosecution of physicians that were perceived as illegal or unethical.<ref name = PMC2701151/> Medical boards of other states (often composed of both regular and irregular physicians) followed suit.<ref name = PMC2701151/> Some authors claim that these efforts allowed organized regular and irregular physicians to exclude not only fraudulent practitioners, but unorganized sects, including midwives, clairvoyants, osteopaths, Christian Scientists, and magnetic healers.<ref>Sandvick, Clinton. "Enforcing Medical Licensing in Illinois:1877-1890" Yale J. Bio. Med. June 2009, volume 82, issue 2, pages 67.</ref>
In 1956, the [[Federation of State Medical Boards]] released "A Guide to the Essentials of a Modern Medical Practice Act."<ref>https://medicallicensedirect.com/files/A_Guide_to_the_Essentials_of_a_Modern_Medical_Practice_Act.pdf</ref> The report distilled a series of recommendations that addressed five core areas: the definition of the practice of medicine; eligibility standards for licensure; licensing examinations; licensure endorsement; and the bases for probation, suspension, or revocation of a license.<ref name=":1" /> Since its initial publication in 1956, the Essentials of a Modern Medical Practice Act has passed through thirteen updated editions, with the most recent in 2012.<ref name=":1" />
▲In ''[[Dent v. West Virginia]]'', [https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/92392/dent-v-west-virginia/?q=%22129%20U.S.%20%22&type=o&order_by=dateFiled%20asc&stat_Precedential=on&filed_after=01%2F01%2F1889&filed_before=01%2F01%2F1890&court=scotus 129 U.S. 114 (1889)], the U.S. Supreme Court for the first time upheld a state physician licensing law. A practitioner with insufficient credentials to obtain a medical license sued West Virginia, claiming a violation of his rights under the [[due process clause]] of the [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|14th Amendment]]. The Supreme Court upheld the statute noting that, while each citizen had a right to follow any lawful calling, they were subject to reasonable state restrictions. Because of the nature of medical training, the large amount of knowledge required, and the life-and-death circumstances with which physicians dealt, patients needed to rely on the assurance of a license requiring physicians to meet a minimum set of standards.
By the beginning of the 20th century most states had implemented licensing laws.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=44}}During the 20th century, medical boards sought to eliminate diploma mills by expanding their requirements for medical schools.<ref name
Today, physicians are
{{Further|Federation of State Medical Boards}}
===Criticism===
{{POV|date=May 2021}}
According to a 1979 article in the ''[[Journal of Libertarian Studies]]'', the enactment of U.S. state medical licensing laws in the late 1800s was for the primary purpose of reducing competition and allowing physicians to make more money.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hamowy |first1=R. |title=The early development of medical licensing laws in the United States, 1875-1900 |journal=The Journal of Libertarian Studies |date=1979 |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=73–119 |pmid=11614768 |issn=0363-2873}}</ref>
The added benefit of public safety made restrictive licensure laws more appealing to both physicians and legislators. Infrequently mentioned in the literature, is that the
Beyond the more general criticisms of [[occupational licensing]] that licensing increases costs and fails to improve quality, licensing in the medical profession specifically has been criticized as failing to enforce the standard practices they are charged with enforcing. In 1986, Inspector General at the [[United States Department of Health and Human Services
There have been a number of cases involving patient deaths where physicians only had their licenses removed years after multiple wrongful patient deaths had happened.<ref name="usatoday2013" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.10news.com/news/team-10/critics-complain-the-california-medical-board-takes-too-long-to-discipline-doctors |title=Archived copy |access-date=2015-07-18 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722071627/http://www.10news.com/news/team-10/critics-complain-the-california-medical-board-takes-too-long-to-discipline-doctors |archive-date=2015-07-22 }}</ref> State medical boards have increased the number of disciplinary actions against physicians since the 1980s.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Feinstein|first1=Richard Jay|title=The ethics of professional regulation|journal=New England Journal of Medicine|date=21 March 1985|volume=312|issue=12|pages=801–804|doi=10.1056/NEJM198503213121231|pmid=3974661}}</ref>
Also, it has been said that because hospitals have had more legal burden placed on them in recent decades, they have more of an incentive to require that their physicians be competent. Thus, the process whereby physicians are reviewed and licensed by the state medical board results in some duplicate evaluations. The physician is evaluated both in the licensure process and then again by the hospital for the purpose of credentialing and granting hospital privileges.<ref name="indepednent2000">{{Cite news|url=http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=266|title=Does Physician Licensing Serve a Useful Purpose? {{!}} Shirley V. Svorny|work=The Independent Institute|access-date=2018-01-04|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104073215/http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=266|archive-date=2018-01-04}}</ref>
Laws in some states prohibit interstate telemedicine without a license to practice in the state where the patient is located. This reduces access to care.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/liberating-telemedicine-options-eliminate-state-licensing-roadblock| title = Liberating Telemedicine: Options to Eliminate the State-Licensing Roadblock {{
===Patient
State medical boards cannot assure a high standard of care, they do not review physicians on a regular basis, nor do they evaluate clinicians at the point of care. It is provider liability that results in oversight that protects consumers, and even that is imperfect. Before they employ or associate with individual physicians, via credentialing and privileging, providers confirm the training, knowledge and skills needed to take on relevant tasks. They review any sanctions and malpractice claims.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/serials/files/regulation/2015/3/regulation-v38n1-6.pdf|date=March
== References ==
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== External links ==
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