Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME): The nongovernmental organization responsible for the accreditation of graduate medical education (GME) programs within the jurisdiction of the United States of America and its territories and possessions.
Action related to nonpayment of fees related to a license: Adverse action taken against a physician seeking licensure through the Compact by a medical licensing agency in any state, federal, or foreign jurisdiction due to late payment or non-payment of a medical license fee.
Active investigation: An investigation related to a physician seeking licensure through the Compact by a licensing agency or law enforcement authority in any state, federal, or foreign jurisdiction for issues that have not been resolved.
American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS): A non-profit organization comprising certifying boards that develop and implement professional standards for the certification of physicians in their declared medical/surgical specialty.
American Osteopathic Association (AOA): The representative organization for osteopathic physicians (DOs) in the United States. AOA is the accrediting body for educational programs at osteopathic medical schools and postgraduate training for graduates of osteopathic medical schools in the United States. AOA is also the umbrella organization for osteopathic medical specialty boards in the United States.
American Osteopathic Association’s Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists: The agency that certifies the postdoctoral education and regulations for certification in various specialties or fields of practice for osteopathic physicians.
Applicant: A physician who seeks expedited licensure through the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact.
Compact: The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact.
Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA): A commission of the AOA that establishes, maintains, and applies accreditation standards and procedures for colleges of osteopathic medicine.
Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination (COMLEX): The examination series administered by the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners that assesses the medical knowledge and clinical skills of osteopathic physicians.
Conviction: A finding by a court that an individual is guilty of a criminal offense through adjudication, or entry of a plea of guilty or no contest to the charge by the offender. Evidence of an entry of a conviction of a criminal offense by the court shall be considered final for purposes of disciplinary action by a member board. Conviction means a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, finding of guilt, jury verdict, or entry of judgment or sentencing, including, but not limited to, convictions, preceding sentences of supervision, conditional discharge, or first offender probation, under the laws of any jurisdiction of the United States of any crime that is a felony.
Coordinated information system: The database established and maintained by the Interstate Commission as set forth in the Compact.
Crime of moral turpitude: An act, whether or not related to the practice of medicine, of baseness, vileness or the depravity contrary to accepted and customary rule, right, and duty between human beings.
Criminal background check: A state and federal criminal background investigation of an applicant for expedited licensure by means of fingerprinting or other biometric data checks. The completed report and information shall be obtained prior to licensure of the applicant. The applicant shall pay for the background check.
Criminal offense: A violation of a law with possible penalties of a term in jail or prison, and/or a fine.
Discipline by a licensing agency in any state, federal, or foreign jurisdiction: Discipline reportable to the National Practitioner Data Bank.
Education Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG): The entity that certifies international medical graduates for entry into U.S. graduate medical education.
Expedited license: A full and unrestricted medical license promptly issued by a member state to an eligible applicant through the process set forth in the Compact. Expedited does not refer to the speed of the Letter of Qualification (LOQ) process, but it refers to the processing of the subsequent license applications.
Federation of State Medical Boards’ Federation Credentials Verification Service (FCVS): A centralized, uniform system operated by the Federation of State Medical Boards for state medical boards to obtain a verified, primary-source record of a physician’s core medical credentials.
Felony: The category or description of a crime defined in the jurisdiction where the crime is committed. Where not otherwise defined in state statute, a felony is a charge which is punishable by a minimum penalty of 12 months of incarceration.
Gross misdemeanor: A category or description of a crime defined in the jurisdiction where the crime is committed. If the jurisdiction does not have a gross misdemeanor category or description, the crime is a charge which is punishable by a minimum penalty of 6 months of incarceration.
International Medical Education Directory: The World Directory of Medical Schools, a public database of worldwide medical schools. The directory is a collaborative product of the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research and the World Federation for Medical Education.
Interstate Commission: The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Commission, the governing body that administers the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact.
Letter of qualification: A notification issued by a state of principal licensure that expresses an applicant’s eligibility or ineligibility for expedited licensure through the process set forth in the Compact.
Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME): An entity that provides accreditation to medical education programs in the United States and Canada as a voluntary, peer-reviewed process of quality assurance that determines whether the medical education program meets established standards.
Member board: A state agency in a member state that acts in the sovereign interests of the state by protecting the public through licensure, regulation, and education of physicians as directed by the state government.
Member state: A state that has enacted the Compact.
Offense: A felony, gross misdemeanor, or crime of moral turpitude.
Predecessor examination: A generally accepted national medical licensure examination issued prior to the administration of USMLE or COMLEX, combination examinations and state licensure board examinations administered prior to 1974.
Primary source verification: Verification of the authenticity of documents with the original source that issued the document or original source verification by another jurisdiction’s physician licensing agency or original source verification by an entity approved by the Interstate Commission including, but not limited to, FCVS or the ECFMG.
Service fee: Fees that may be assessed by the Interstate Commission or the state of principal licensure to handle and process an application for an expedited license. A service fee is not a fee for the issuance of an expedited license.
State of Principal License: A member state where a physician holds a license to practice medicine and which has been designated as such by the physician for purposes of registration and participation in the Compact.
United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE): The examination series for medical licensure in the United States administered by the National Board of Medical Examiners and the Federation of State Medical Boards.