Case Study: Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure & Supervision

Introduction

The Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure & Supervision is dedicated to safeguarding the health, safety, and well-being of Oklahoma citizens by ensuring high standards for licensed medical professionals. The board oversees 24 professions, including medical doctors, physical therapists, and physician assistants, and is responsible for licensing, compliance monitoring, and effectuating and monitoring of disciplinary actions.

With 29 full-time employees, only 2 are responsible for the continuing education management of over 30,000 licensees. Due to this workload, they needed a way to reduce the time spent on administrative tasks required for licensing and determining compliance. In 2022, they selected CE Broker as their partner to revolutionize their CE management processes, resulting in increased efficiency and improved licensee compliance.

Challenge

Before implementing CE Broker, the Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure & Supervision faced significant challenges in managing CE compliance. They relied on paper-based processes that involved physical submissions, verifying hard-copies of completion certifications, and manual reviews. This process was further complicated by varied requirements among the professions and difficulty managing and retrieving records. These tasks were not only time consuming for the board, but also for the licensees who needed to submit the paperwork for license renewal.

Valeska Barr, Assistant Director of Licensing, noted, “Professionals would send their requests in for approval and we’d have to physically box them up and take them to committee members. We’d then have to sort through all of the documents, spreadsheets, and emails to determine compliance. It was very manual and time-consuming.”

The Solution

In 2022, the Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure & Supervision implemented CE Broker for 6 professions of licensees to address these challenges and simplify their workflow. The solution provided a single, unified platform for managing the unique CE requirements for the professions that they serve. This has also streamlined their auditing process, enabling more efficient monitoring of compliance.

As Lisa Cullen, Director of Licensing, explained, “CE Broker accommodates the professions and unique CE requirements that our board serves.” Valeska added, “CE Broker definitely makes it easier to access the verification needed for us to quickly see whether professionals are compliant. It’s nice, we no longer have to keep documents in an actual file or go through 300 pages of CME certificates to find what we’re looking for. The data is housed in a way that is so much easier for us to validate.”

Lastly, the team highlighted the scalability of the product. Valeska notes, “Every board is different and has different requirements. CE Broker isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution and has been configured to meet our needs. To have a platform that can effectively serve our licensees is a really big bonus!”

The Results

The implementation and adoption of CE Broker, which has increased to 9 professions of licensees, has yielded many positive results for the Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure & Supervision. The most evident is the reduced administrative workload and increased efficiency, freeing up staff time for other critical functions and significantly improving the management of CE compliance.

In addition, the method for approving courses has been greatly simplified. Valeska states, “Previously, to get courses approved, I would have to receive the course content and spend the time to get it set up in a format to send to the reviewer. That took more than 8 hours a week and I don’t have to do that anymore. Those hours are now back in my schedule to devote to other tasks.”

The board team also mentioned that CE Broker has created an enhanced licensee experience, since they
benefit from the user-friendly platform and can easily track their requirements and course history.

“It’s easy for professionals to stay compliant, because they can log into CE Broker and very clearly see the requirements that have or haven’t been completed. The dashboard is very handy for them and they like that they have an online filing cabinet that they can always access when they need to. That is a big benefit,” said Lisa.

Valeska adds, “I have heard licensees say, ‘That was easier than I thought!’ when working through the process for license renewal.”

Overall, the Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure & Supervision’s partnership with CE Broker has proven to be a successful endeavor. The efficiency with which they can monitor and enforce licensee compliance directly contributes to their mission.

About Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure & Supervision

The Board of Medical Licensure & Supervision promotes the health, safety and well-being of Oklahoma citizens and patients by requiring a high level of qualifications, standards and continuing education for licenses regulated by Oklahoma Medical Board. This licensing includes medical doctors, physical therapists, physician assistants, and others. The Board protects the on-going health, safety and well-being of the public by investigating complaints, conducting public hearings, effectuating and monitoring disciplinary actions, all while providing the licensee with proper due process and all rights afforded under the law.

About CE Broker by Propelus

As part of Propelus, CE Broker is modernizing how professionals, their employers, regulators, and associations work better together. For over 20 years, CE Broker has propelled the progress of millions of dedicated professionals along their career journeys through its full-life cycle continuing education management solution. Leveraging innovative technology, essential data, and unparalleled strategic partnerships, CE Broker powers critical compliance programs for a happier workforce, better operations, and safer communities.

Learn more about CE Broker powered by Propelus at Propelus.com