ECFMG works with the Physician Hospital Education Network (PHEN) to primary-source verify medical credentials of students and graduates of medical schools located outside the United States of America. Beginning 1 January 2019, if you are applying for a PHEN program and you are pursuing or have already obtained your basic medical qualification in a country other than the United States of America, you must have certain required medical credentials verified through EPIC.
To have your credentials verified through EPIC in support of an application to PHEN, complete the following steps:
Complete your PHEN application by visiting www.clerkshipmd.com/apply .
If you have questions regarding PHEN’s application processes, please contact PHEN by sending an e-mail to info@clerkshipmd.com.
See Getting Started with EPIC for complete instructions. Once ECFMG has processed your request and established your EPIC Account, ECFMG will e-mail you login information so you can access your EPIC Account.
See Confirming Your Identity with EPIC for detailed information. Confirming your identity with EPIC requires you to submit an EPIC Identification Form (EIF). Once this form has been accepted by ECFMG, you will be able to upload credentials required by PHEN to EPIC for primary-source verification.
Log in to your EPIC Account and upload the required credentials for primary-source verification. See Credentials Required by Physician Hospital Education Network below to determine which credentials you need to upload. As you upload each credential, be sure to select Physician Hospital Education Network to receive an EPIC Report once the credential is verified. Because PHEN has requested to be notified when their applicants' credentials have been sent for verification through EPIC, a notification will be provided to PHEN when your credential is sent for verification. This notification will include a copy of the credential that you have submitted for verification. For more information on notifications, see the About EPIC Notifications section of the FAQs for Physicians page.
Note: It is very important that you select Physician Hospital Education Network to receive an EPIC Report for each required credential as you upload it. When you do, PHEN will be notified when your credential is sent for verification and an EPIC Report on that credential will be automatically sent to PHEN when the credential is verified. If you do not select Physician Hospital Education Network to receive an EPIC Report on a credential at the time you upload it, you will be required to send an EPIC Report to PHEN once your credential is verified.
Note: If your credentials have already been primary-source verified by ECFMG for ECFMG Certification or through ECFMG’s International Credentials Services (EICS), you do not need to upload the credentials that were previously verified by ECFMG. These credentials will be added to your EPIC Portfolio at no cost. Simply provide your ECFMG/USMLE ID and/or EICS ID when you establish your EPIC Account. ECFMG will review your file typically within 10 business days; if your file is acceptable, ECFMG will add your previously verified credentials to your EPIC Portfolio.
If you selected Physician Hospital Education Network to receive an EPIC Report when a credential was uploaded, that report will be sent to PHEN automatically when the credential is verified.
If you did not select Physician Hospital Education Network to receive an EPIC Report at the time you uploaded a credential, you must go to the “My Reports” tab in your EPIC Account and request an EPIC Report for Physician Hospital Education Network. Be sure to select Physician Hospital Education Network from the drop-down list when sending your report.
PHEN requires the following credentials to be verified through EPIC.
For Medical School Graduates:
For Medical School Students:
For more information on the credentials verified through EPIC, see Using EPIC.
If you have any questions regarding EPIC and the EPIC verification process, please contact EPIC at info@ecfmgepic.org or +1 (215) 966-3900. Telephone assistance is available Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time in the United States.
For more information on applying to PHEN, please visit the PHEN website at www.clerkshipmd.com/ or contact PHEN at info@clerkshipmd.com.
Please also read the general Frequently Asked Questions for Physicians.
1. I am applying to a PHEN program; do I need to use EPIC?
Beginning 1 January 2019, if you are applying for a PHEN program and you are pursuing or have already obtained your basic medical qualification in a country other than the United States of America, you must have certain required medical credentials verified through EPIC.
2. Which credentials do I need to submit to PHEN through EPIC?
For Medical School Graduates:
For Medical School Students:
If you have questions regarding the credentials you are required to submit, please contact PHEN at info@clerkshipmd.com.
3. How far in advance of applying to a PHEN program do I need to upload my credentials to EPIC?
We recommend that you create an EPIC Account and upload your credentials to EPIC as soon as possible after you have decided to apply to PHEN. Through EPIC, your credentials are verified directly with the issuing institution. The time required to complete the verification of credentials varies and depends on a number of factors, including the time it takes for the issuing institution to respond to our verification requests.
1. Will I have access to my medical credentials after I apply to PHEN?
Yes. The credentials that you upload to EPIC remain available to you as part of your EPIC Portfolio. You can use EPIC to send copies of these credentials along with reports verifying their authenticity to organizations worldwide at any time throughout your career.
2. Will PHEN have access to my EPIC Portfolio?
No. PHEN will not have direct access to your EPIC Portfolio. PHEN will have access only to the credentials, notifications, and verification reports that you make available to them through EPIC.
3. I requested that EPIC Reports on my verified credentials be provided to PHEN. How do I know if PHEN received the verification reports and copies of my credentials?
Once your credentials have been verified and EPIC Reports have been sent to PHEN, PHEN will have access to the reports and copies of your credentials through the EPIC Report Portal. If you need to confirm whether PHEN has accessed your reports through the Report Portal, contact PHEN at info@clerkshipmd.com.
4. Can I select PHEN to receive EPIC Reports only once, or should I do it for every credential individually?
An EPIC Report will only be sent for a credential if you indicate a report should be sent to PHEN for that credential. You should request a report for PHEN for each credential required by PHEN.
5. Do I need to use EPIC when applying to PHEN if my credentials have already been verified by ECFMG for a purpose other than applying to PHEN?
If your credentials have already been primary-source verified by ECFMG for ECFMG Certification or through ECFMG’s International Credentials Services (EICS), you will need to create an EPIC Account and use EPIC to provide your credentials and verification reports to PHEN. However, you will not need to upload the credentials that were previously verified by ECFMG; they will be added to your EPIC Account at no cost. Simply provide your ECFMG/USMLE ID and/or EICS ID when you establish your EPIC Account. ECFMG will review your file typically within 10 business days; if your file is acceptable, ECFMG will add your previously verified credentials to your EPIC Portfolio.
6. If I have questions or problems regarding EPIC, should I contact EPIC or PHEN?
If you have questions regarding EPIC’s services—such as creating an EPIC Account, uploading your credentials, managing your portfolio, the verification process, sending verification reports, or fees—please contact EPIC at info@ecfmgepic.org or +1 (215) 966-3900. Telephone assistance is available Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time in the United States.
If you have questions regarding applying to PHEN—such as necessary documentation, required credentials, or program categories—please visit www.clerkshipmd.com/ or contact PHEN at info@clerkshipmd.com.
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[Last update: October 25, 2022]