Electronic Spring 2023 | Issue 54

IPS Meets with IDFPR

By Dr. Joshua Nathan

 As spring warmth broke through Illinois’ unpredictably icy winds, IPS representatives met with leadership from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) to inaugurate our working relationship.

Representing IPS were President Abdi Tinwalla MD, President-elect Andrew Lancia MD, Past President Steve Weinstein MD, Council Member Joshua Nathan MD, Interim Executive Director Kristen Malloy, and IPS’s contract lobbyist Mark Peysakhovich. We were honored to have a 60-minute meeting with Secretary Mario Treto, Director Cecelia Abundis, Deputy Secretary Paul A. Isaac, Deputy Director Sarah Snow, and Chief Medical Officer Shami Goyal MD. 

During introductions, Secretary Treto shared that he served previously as Chairman of the Board for Howard Brown Health, where he supported mental health care providers, and developed his understanding of the critical role IDFPR plays in the health and safety of physicians, other health care providers, and all the people of Illinois.

IPS and IDFPR agreed on our shared vision to have a licensure process that is efficient, while protecting the people of Illinois, including its physicians. We got to know each other, shared our expertise, and learned ways we can work together.  This initial meeting primarily focused on two general areas – an efficient licensure application and renewal process, and having applications for licensure that protect physicians suffering from mental illness and encourages them to seek treatment.

In addressing the efficiency of the licensure application and renewal process, we learned exciting news, and discovered our common frustrations and ways we can help each other. IDFPR is in the process of implementing a new, agency-wide processing system. The current one has been in use since 1999! It is their intent to expedite licensing applications, reducing turnaround time to as little as five days.

Dr. Lancia highlighted the need to facilitate licensing for incoming residents. During this discussion, we learned that IDFPR communicates to applicants by email and that most delays occur (a) while waiting for email responses, and (b) waiting on documents such as school transcripts. We can help by asking residency directors and coordinators to be sure IDFPR has accurate email addresses for all applicants that stay functional after medical school ends, and making sure incoming residents add the IDFPR email address as a contact to keep it out of spam or junk mail (or to regularly check the junk mailbox). IDFPR will investigate the possibility of getting transcripts directly from medical schools and universities. 

As an additional note, Director Abundis informed us that one simple solution to expedite the renewal process involved physicians beginning the application process as early as possible during the renewal time frame. The start date for renewal applications this year is April 1, 2023.

We also had a productive discussion about the important role IDFPR and the Medical Board plays in the health of Illinois physicians. To facilitate licensing, IDFPR publishes the Medical Minute newsletter and an FAQ page to assist with completion of the renewal and other license applications. Director Abundis invited IPS to assist in editing these to make them more helpful. She added, for the six one-hour mandatory trainings (one in prevention of sexual harassment, one in recognizing dementia, three for safe opioid prescribing and one in Implicit Bias) most will just require an attestation that these have been completed. In respect of the tremendous toll taken on physicians by the pandemic, IDFPR has instituted a fee waiver for this cycle’s license renewal!

Saving the best news for last, IPS leadership is thrilled to share that IDFPR has removed questions about mental health from the Physician License Renewal and Controlled Substance Registration Renewal applications. CMO Dr. Goyal reported that Illinois is the 15th state to do so.  In addition, we expressed our gratitude to IDFPR for having already changed all other applications to ask only about currently impairing mental illness and substance abuse, and not about past mental illness or substance abuse. We offered our assistance to revise the instructions and follow-up process for physicians that do indicate current impairment and look forward to working with Director Abundis on this project.  We voiced our sadness about the high rate of physician depression and suicide, and how fears about licensure have impeded physicians from acknowledging mental illness and seeking treatment. In that light, we thanked IDFPR for their efforts in supporting and removing impediments to physician wellness. This change represents a general effort within state government to destigmatize treatment for mental health conditions. This also brings Illinois in line with recommendations from the Federation of State Medical Boards. IPS hopes this will encourage physicians to get the health care they need, including mental health care.