On November 1, 2018, the DC Board of Medicine officially opened the 2018 DC physician license renewal period. DC physician licenses expire on December 31, 2018, and the Medical Society is providing MSDC members with resources and assistance as they navigate this year's renewal process.

Below are five things that you need to know about this year's physician license renewal process:

1) MSDC WEBINAR OFFERS DIRECT ACCESS TO DC HEALTH EXPERTS
Join MSDC on Friday, November 16 at 2 PM f or a special webinar with DC Health on the 2018 medical licensure renewal process. Hear directly from DC Board of Medicine staff (1) how to complete the licensure form and (2) tips and tricks to ease the process and avoid snafus. More importantly, this is your chance to ask the experts your questions about licensure renewal! Read more or register here. For those who cannot attend live, a recording will be made available after the event. Contact hay@msdc.org for details.
 
2) THIS IS AN ONLINE-ONLY PROCESS. T his year's renewal process must be conducted online via the DC Health Licensing portal . As this system is brand new, ALL licenses are required to register first before accessing the portal. Then, l icensees will have to go online and complete an electronic renewal, which includes electronically uploading relevant documents (e.g., proof of CE). Licensees can save their progress by clicking “Save and Continue” at the bottom of each page and return to the form and continue at a later time.
 
The DC Board recommends : Before beginning the renewal process, LICENSEES ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO SCAN ALL RELEVANT DOCUMENTS (e.g., proof of CE) AND HAVE THEM SAVED ON THEIR LOCAL DESKTOP IN PDF FORMAT, READY FOR UPLOAD DURING THE RENEWAL PROCESS .

3) CAREFULLY REVIEW THE USER GUIDE. The DC Board of Medicine has provided a detailed User Guide . Licensees should have their NPI and DEA number handy. Physicians should also note that under the second tab ("License"), licensees will see every license currently up for renewal. As stated in the User Guide directions, "licensees will have to choose whether they want to place their license in Paid Inactive status, or if they want to renew their license." If you want to renew your license, do not select "Paid Inactive".

4) NOTE CME REQUIREMENTS AND MSDC MEMBER RESOURCES. CME requirements for DC physician (MD/DO) licensees are: "For physicians, licensees must complete a minimum of fifty (50) CE hours between 1/1/2017 and 12/31/2018. Furthermore, of those fifty (50) hours, three (3) must be in the subject of HIV/AIDs, two (2) in the subject of LGBTQ Cultural Competency, and a course in the subject of pharmacology. " The Medical Society has resources to assist members in complying with the CME requirements. Contact Pia Duryea ( duryea@msdc.org , 202-355-9414) for information.  

5) CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK IS REQUIRED . All licensees will be required to undergo new criminal background checks (CBC). This CBC will be a name-based search, and licensees will not have to take any action other than agree to the CBC during the renewal process, and pay the requisite fee of $50.00.