What If A Doctor Is Not Board Certified?

In the United States, as a general matter, doctors do not need to be board certified to practice medicine. Indeed, board certification does not in itself guarantee competence. Most doctors, however, do have board certification from respected certifying bodies--eight out of ten, according to the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). Board certification gives extra assurance to patients that a doctor is competent in his field. Medical certification procedures in other countries differ in detail, but the principles remain similar.

The Main Boards

• Lack of any certification may be reason for concern.

  The most highly respected certifying body is the ABMS, which includes the American Medical Association and American Hospital Association among its associate members. It certifies physicians in a range of medical specialties and runs a recertification program to check that standards are maintained. The American Osteopathic Association certifies osteopathic physicians.

Other Boards

• Many other medical boards exist offering certification in medical specialties. Some are recognized by ABMS, others are not. This does not mean, however, that the certification offered by such boards is worthless.

Non-certified Doctors

• ABMS certification sets the standard in the U.S.

  Only a small minority of doctors in the United States hold no certification. There are a number of possible explanations, including failure to achieve the standard required by a board or loss of certification due to failure to comply with recertification requirements. An ABMS approved service, Certifacts, can be used to verify whether a doctor has certification from an ABMS-approved board. Noncertified doctors are licensed to practice medicine and may be entirely competent, but certification demonstrates a level of achievement beyond that required by medical school.