Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) is an advocacy group that supports state medical boards that license and regulate the practice of medicine in states.
The organization is controversial for its role in the opioid crisis and its commitment to opposing “misinformation and disinformation” regarding the COVID-19 vaccine.
Background
The state medical boards (including both medical and osteopathic regulatory boards) of the United States and its territories require medical practitioners to pass examinations to obtain medical licenses. The boards also discipline and regulate the medical practices of physicians and other medical professionals. 1
Founded in 1912, Federation of State Medical Boards represents and supports these boards, advocating for better health care and helping them “shape the future of medical regulation.” FSMB acts as an advocacy platform for the state medical boards, develops strategic plans to secure resources for the boards, and provides assessments, data, and research. 2
Controversies
Opioid Crisis
In February 2012, John Fauber, a reporter for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and medical publication MedPage Today published an article reporting that the Federation of State Medical Boards Foundation had asked for and received $100,000 from Purdue Pharma to help print and distribute Responsible Opioid Prescribing: A Physician’s Guide, a book on opioid-prescribing policy, to 700,000 practicing doctors. The book was based on materials that FSMB had already used to develop an opioid model policy that at that time was adopted partially or fully by about 30 state medical boards. 3 FSMB Foundation has published new editions of the book since the report’s publication, including one later in 2012 4 and one in 2014. 5
Fauber reported that FSMB asked Scott Fishman, a physician affiliated with the University of California–Davis, to author the book; he would also author later editions. Fishman had received extensive financial backing from pharmaceutical companies that manufacture and market opioids. Fishman made a statement to the reporter asserting that “he was not paid for his work and does not receive royalties.” 6
The $100,000 was only part of the $3.1 million that the FSMB’s foundation estimated in total distribution costs, but FSMB did not disclose the total amount of money it received from the opioid industry. Fauber reported that FSMB also sought financial backing from six other opioid companies. 7
In response to the controversy, FSMB explained that it sought to establish guidelines for prescribing opioids as part of a project grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to support an initiative that would find what the report called “common ground” on treating chronic pain. MedPage Today reported that RWJF granted $693,000 to the University of Wisconsin’s Pain and Policy Studies Group, which itself had received $2.5 million from Purdue Pharma and several other opioid manufacturers from 1999 to 2010. 8
Furthermore, in 2009, the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health offered an online course based on FSMB’s opioid-prescribing book. The course was funded by Endo Pharmaceuticals and had professor Aaron Gilson, who had previously contributed to an FDA application process for opioid-maker Cephalon, as its course reviewer. 9
Deborah Grady, a professor of medicine at the University of California–San Francisco, told MedPage Today she believed FSMB’s actions and pharma-funded courses such as University of Wisconsin’s contributed to the rise in opioid abuse by advocating for looser prescribing practices. The adoption of FSMB’s model policy prevented state medical boards from disciplining doctors and medical centers that overprescribed opioids, according to New York psychiatrist Andrew Kolodny. 10
COVID-19 Disinformation Policy
In 2022, FSMB came under fire for its aggressive stance on physicians and other medical practitioners disseminating alleged “misinformation and disinformation” concerning the COVID-19 vaccine. 11
In July 2021, FSMB announced it was taking a stand against physicians spreading such “disinformation” on any platform, even their personal social media accounts, and threatened “disciplinary action by state medical boards, including the suspension or revocation” of their medical licenses. In April 2022, FSMB seemingly advocated for laws such as the promise by California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) to punish doctors who share COVID-19 “misinformation.” 12
FSMB did not define what constitutes COVID-19 “misinformation and disinformation.” The American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Family Medicine issued a joint statement supporting FSMB’s position. 13
Funding
In 2020, Federation of State Medical Boards had a total revenue of $51,397,414, total expenses of $45,122,121, and net assets of $43,239,048 according to its tax returns. 14
According to its 2020 tax returns, FSMB paid Kevin Hagen $157,550 for “contract labor/IT,” Sidley Austin LLP $113,588 for “legal assistance,” and Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck $102,068 for “policy counsel.” 15
Leadership
As of October 2022, Federation of State Medical Boards’s board was chaired by Sarvam P. TerKonda of Florida Medical. Other board members included Jone C. Geimer-Flanders, Humayun J. Chaudhry, Jeffrey D. Carter, and Kenneth B. Simons. Chaudhry also worked as the president and CEO of FSMB. 16
References
- “About FSMB.” Fsmb.org. Accessed October 15, 2022. https://www.fsmb.org/about-fsmb/.
- “About FSMB.” Fsmb.org. Accessed October 15, 2022. https://www.fsmb.org/about-fsmb/.
- Fauber, John. “Follow the Money: Pain, Policy, and Profit.” MedPage Today, February 19, 2012. Accessed October 15, 2022. https://www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/painmanagement/31256.
- “FSMB Foundation Publishes Second Edition of Prescribing Book.” North Carolina Medical Board, July 31, 2012. https://www.ncmedboard.org/resources-information/professional-resources/publications/forum-newsletter/article/fsmb_foundation_publishes_second_edition_of_prescribing_book
- [1] “FSMB Foundation Releases Updated Book Aimed at Curbing Opioid Abuse.” FSMB.org. Federation of State Medical Boards, October 23, 2014. https://www.fsmb.org/siteassets/advocacy/news-releases/2014/rop-book-2nd-ed-oct-2014.pdf.
- Fauber, John. “Follow the Money: Pain, Policy, and Profit.” MedPage Today, February 19, 2012. Accessed October 15, 2022. https://www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/painmanagement/31256.
- Fauber, John. “Follow the Money: Pain, Policy, and Profit.” MedPage Today, February 19, 2012. Accessed October 15, 2022. https://www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/painmanagement/31256.
- Fauber, John. “Follow the Money: Pain, Policy, and Profit.” MedPage Today, February 19, 2012. Accessed October 15, 2022. https://www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/painmanagement/31256.
- Fauber, John. “Follow the Money: Pain, Policy, and Profit.” MedPage Today, February 19, 2012. Accessed October 15, 2022. https://www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/painmanagement/31256.
- Fauber, John. “Follow the Money: Pain, Policy, and Profit.” MedPage Today, February 19, 2012. Accessed October 15, 2022. https://www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/painmanagement/31256.
- Burdick, Suzanne, Ph.D. “Federation of State Medical Boards Attacks Physicians Over COVID ‘Misinformation’ — Who’s Behind It?” ChildrensHealthDefense.org, September 14, 2022. Accessed October 15, 2022. https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/federation-of-state-medical-boards-covid-misinformation/?utm_source=salsa&eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=e143d6dd-f1a8-4dff-8e11-65b3063aaa54.
- Burdick, Suzanne, Ph.D. “Federation of State Medical Boards Attacks Physicians Over COVID ‘Misinformation’ — Who’s Behind It?” ChildrensHealthDefense.org, September 14, 2022. Accessed October 15, 2022. https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/federation-of-state-medical-boards-covid-misinformation/?utm_source=salsa&eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=e143d6dd-f1a8-4dff-8e11-65b3063aaa54.
- Burdick, Suzanne, Ph.D. “Federation of State Medical Boards Attacks Physicians Over COVID ‘Misinformation’ — Who’s Behind It?” ChildrensHealthDefense.org, September 14, 2022. Accessed October 15, 2022. https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/federation-of-state-medical-boards-covid-misinformation/?utm_source=salsa&eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=e143d6dd-f1a8-4dff-8e11-65b3063aaa54.
- Federation of State Medical Boards, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2020. Part I. Lines 12, 18, 22.
- Federation of State Medical Boards, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2020. Part VII, Section B – Independent Contractors.
- “Leadership.” Fsmb.org. Accessed October 15, 2022. https://www.fsmb.org/about-fsmb/fsmb-leadership/.