Rethinking State Licensure in Healthcare for the 21st Century
State-based licensure for healthcare professionals has been the status quo for over a century. But in an era defined by digital health and telemedicine, is this 19th-century solution still fit for purpose? In this episode, I explore the historical context of state licensure, the modern-day challenges it poses to telehealth, and practical solutions for breaking down regulatory barriers. Drawing insights from my experience as a state licensing board member and recent academic research, we dissect the structural flaws that limit patient access, drive up costs, and stifle innovation in healthcare. Here’s the original post on state licensure in healthcare that fueled this episode.
What we cover in this Episode:
-
The origins of State-Based Licensure
- How Technology has Changed the healthcare Regulatory Landscape
- The Real-World Impact of State Licensing in healthcare & the Barriers it places to providing/receiving care
- Possible solutions or alternatives for State-based healthcare licensing
- How value-based care and regulatory policy are intertwined
Referenced Articles:
- Jeffrey David Iqbal, Nikola Biller-Andorno, The regulatory gap in digital health and alternative pathways to bridge it,
Health Policy and Technology, Volume 11, Issue 3, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hlpt.2022.100663. - Gershuni O, Orr JM, Vogel A, Park K, Leider JP, Resnick BA, Czabanowska K. A Systematic Review on Professional Regulation and Credentialing of Public Health Workforce. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2023; 20(5):4101. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20054101
- Roy CG. Patient Safety Functions of State Medical Boards in the United States. Yale J Biol Med. 2021 Mar 31;94(1):165-173. PMID: 33795994; PMCID: PMC7995940. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7995940/
We post videos of certain podcast episodes, including this episode, which can find on the YouTube Channel.
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Rafael E. Salazar II, MHS, OTR/L (Rafi) is a healthcare consultant, speaker, and host of he Better Outcomes Show. He helps healthcare startups, SaaS platforms, and organizations craft clear positioning, humanize the patient experience, and go to market effectively. He’s the author of Better Outcomes: A Guide to Humanizing Healthcare and principal at Rehab U Practice Solutions. His work on Telehealth has been discussed in Forbes, and he’s advised on projects ranging from digital health product launches to multi-million-dollar healthcare transformation initiatives.
Today, Rafi helps innovative healthcare companies like technology startups, platforms, SaaS companies & innovative healthcare organizations develop effective positioning strategy and business development plans through his consulting work. He also leverages his experience as a professor and academic to speak and train on the topics around humanizing the healthcare experience & healthcare innovation. In addition, Rafi also owns and operates ProActive Rehabilitation & Wellness, a multidisciplinary outpatient clinic treating patients with musculoskeletal pain.
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Are you building something innovative in healthcare—like a digital health product, service, or platform that’s aiming to truly improve the patient experience?
I help healthcare startups, SaaS platforms, and forward-thinking provider organizations develop clear positioning strategies, identify high-value offers, and build go-to-market plans that actually resonate with both users and buyers.
Whether you're launching a new product, scaling an existing service, or navigating digital transformation, I bring 12+ years of experience across clinical operations, healthcare innovation, and strategic development.
How I help:
- Clarify your product/service positioning so customers “get it”
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I’ve consulted on projects from multi-million-dollar state initiatives to early-stage product launches. My work’s been featured in Forbes, and I also speak at healthcare events and conferences on topics like innovation, digital health, and humanizing care. I also speak and train at healthcare conferences, events, and organizations on topics related to technology-enabled care, healthcare innovation, healthcare positioning, and humanizing the healthcare experience.
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