A comparative study of reciprocity in international physician licensing
International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing
ISSN: 1750-6123
Article publication date: 26 August 2014
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the international mobility of physicians by comparing the regulations governing the practice of foreign physicians in the USA and eight other countries.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a comparative study of the regulations governing the practice of foreign physicians in eight countries: China, India, the Philippines, the UK, Germany, Denmark, Israel and Australia. Their requirements are then contrasted with the USA’s requirements for foreign physician licensure to evaluate the extent of reciprocity among these countries. We conclude the paper by outlining some recommendations to increase the international mobility of physicians in the future.
Findings
The results indicate that licensure for US physicians to practice in the nations above ranges from impossible (India), to difficult (China), to moderately difficult (the UK, Germany and Denmark), to easy and completely reciprocal (Australia, Israel and the Philippines).
Originality/value
The results and recommendations in this study are a valuable starting point for further research and policy changes that will ensure a more reciprocal relationship between the USA and other countries, in terms of opportunities for international medical practice.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank Shrisha Juneja, an undergraduate research assistant at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse for her help with the research for this paper, and Mildred Passaro, a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse for her assistance in formatting the references and notes.
Citation
Pande, V. (2014), "A comparative study of reciprocity in international physician licensing", International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing, Vol. 8 No. 3, pp. 265-283. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPHM-06-2014-0031
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited