States Cut Red Tape for Pandemic Surge Workforce

Politico Pro observes that an increasing number of states dealing with the coronavirus pandemic are not only suspending scores of regulations, they are also reducing legal barriers to let retired physicians, medical students, and out-of-state doctors relieve their frontline health workers. However, all of this red-tape cutting may not come fast enough for the hardest hit locales. Hospitals are facing shortages of essential personnel like emergency physicians, pulmonologists, and respiratory therapists. In addition, many are seeking a surge of temporary workers to handle administrative work and/or telemedicine tasks. Those drafted into service may come from all over the nation and require malpractice insurance; temporary medical licenses; or, in the case of retired doctors, board recertification. Some states have had to scramble to make such arrangements in the past, most notably after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. But the nationwide push coupled with uncertainty over when the virus may peak in many areas is creating a run on personnel. Some states are tackling the problem by creating emergency licenses. The Arkansas State Medical Board, for instance, now permits medical students with at least one year of postgraduate training and a written recommendation from their program director to apply for a temporary emergency license.