It is increasingly difficult for patients to access health care clinicians, especially in rural and underserved areas. Not enough clinicians are entering the workforce to replace those quitting or retiring while the US population is growing and aging. The average wait for a first-time doctor’s appointment is 26 days. Yet, state licensing laws prevent experienced international medical graduates (IMGs) who migrate to the United States from offering their services to residents. Unlike many other developed countries, American states require IMGs to repeat their residency training in accredited US programs – convincing many IMGs to not practice medicine. Several states are reforming their licensing laws to remove obstacles preventing IMGs from practicing medicine, but not without controversy.

Join Jonathan Wolfson, Chief Legal Officer and Policy Director at the Cicero Institute, Maqbool Halepota, MD, FACP, Medical Director at Palo Verde Cancer Center-Scottsdale, and Lisa Robin, Chief Advocacy Officer at the Federation of State Medical Boards, for a discussion of the issue.

Lunch to follow.

• “More States Move to Let Experienced Foreign Doctors Serve Their Patients,” by Jeffrey A. Singer
• “How Tennessee Is Creating New Opportunities for Doctors Trained outside the U.S.,” by Jonathan Wolfson
• “Reforming American Medical Licensure,” by Kevin Dayaratna, Ph.D, Paul J. Larkin, Jr. & John O’Shea, M.D.
• “Doctors With Borders,” by The Cato Institute