The state agency overseeing medical licenses approved an emergency rule over the weekend to allow out of state doctors in good standing to apply for temporary emergency medical licenses in Alabama.

The Alabama Board of Medical Examiners and the Medical Licensure Commission met over the weekend and adopted the measure.

“As the number of COVID-19 cases surges in Alabama, hospitals are experiencing a shortage of qualified physicians to care for the sick. This is an all-hands-on-deck moment,” said Dr. Mark LeQuire, chairman of the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners, in a statement.

A release from the Alabama State Board of Medical Examiners explains that the emergency allows “qualified physicians in good standing who are licensed to practice medicine in another state or Canada can apply for temporary emergency licenses to practice in an Alabama hospital.”

The text of the rule notes, “[A]n emergency need exists for qualified physicians to provide medical services in Alabama, and that this need warrants the emergency adoption of this rule to provide for the issuance of an emergency certificate of qualification to physicians licensed in other states who may assist with this health emergency.”

The rule will be in place for 180 days or until Governor Kay Ivey rescinds Alabama’s declared state of emergency on the coronavirus, whichever comes first.

Physicians from out of state or Canada must provide the board “written verification from a hospital’s administrator or chief of medicine” as part of their application for a temporary emergency license.

“[W]e will continue to take all necessary action to ensure Alabamians suffering from COVID-19 have access to the care they need,” concluded LeQuire.

Further details on the eligibility requirements for doctors, and how those interested can apply for the temporary license, is available here.

Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: henry@new-yhn.local or on Twitter @HenryThornton95.