Abbott fast-tracks licensing for out-of-state medical professionals to combat coronavirus
Gov. Greg Abbott announced Saturday he was fast-tracking temporary licensing for out-of-state medical professionals in an effort to bolster the state’s response to the growing number of coronavirus cases in Texas.
Abbott directed the Texas Medical Board and the Texas Board of Nursing to allow for out-of-state physicians, physician assistants, certain retired physicians, nurses, and others to receive temporary licenses, a Texas limited emergency license or hospital-to-hospital credentialing, according to a news release.
“By utilizing TMB and TBN’s disaster emergency licensure rule, Texas will have an increased supply of health care professionals who will be able to provide necessary in-person and telemedicine services to Texans across the state,” Abbott said in a statement.
Texas Medical Board President Sherif Zaafran also encouraged licensed Texas physicians who have been retired for less than two years to apply for a return to active status. Any licensed nurse who holds good standing in their home state is not required to obtain a Texas license to practice in a disaster relief setting, according to the Texas Board of Nursing’s website.
The acceleration of licensing procedures is just one of many actions Abbott has announced after declaring a state of disaster on Friday.
Saturday morning, Abbott also waived certain commercial trucking regulations in order to facilitate the delivery of supplies in Texas. The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles will be coordinating the suspended permitting requirements, according to a news release.
“Suspending these state trucking regulations will improve our ability to deliver the necessary supplies throughout the state so that grocers and retailers are able to continually stock their shelves,” Abbott said in a statement. “I want to remind Texans that stockpiling resources is neither necessary nor productive.”
The Texas grocery chain H-E-B announced Saturday it will limit store hours to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily in an effort to help employees restock. Across the state, people have descended on stores and cleaned out shelves to gather supplies, despite officials urging people not to.
As part of Abbott’s declaration on Friday, he also directed state agencies to facilitate telemedicine, announced the first drive-through testing sites in Texas and restricted visitation at nursing homes, hospitals, day cares, state-sponsored living centers, jails, prisons and juvenile justice centers.
The disaster declaration authorizes a wide breadth of responses, and Abbott joins more than 20 governors nationwide who have made similar proclamations.
