The State of Florida Advances Emergency Preparedness with Merit’s Digital Credentialing Platform

Florida’s Division of Emergency Management adds speed and safety to license checks in partnership with Merit, helping medical professionals and emergency responders move more quickly during emergencies.

MILLBRAE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Merit, the interoperable digital credentials ecosystem, has been designated by the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) as its digital credentials provider.

Starting this week, Merit will begin sending digital medical credentials to all health care professionals with licenses issued by the Florida Department of Health (Florida Health). Merit is notifying all licensed service providers with email addresses on file with Florida Health through social media and email messages.

FDEM is proactively ensuring that Florida’s responders can seamlessly provide their credentials and focus on responding to emergencies, instead of relying on analog systems and paperwork. These secure, portable digital credentials will ensure that medical license checks can occur instantaneously and contactlessly by any facility or individual needing to verify a health care worker’s credentials, including hospitals, nursing homes, and pop-up field testing sites.

“Adopting an interoperable infrastructure for digital credentials will make it much easier to access, activate, and track the progress of Florida’s first responders during an emergency,” said Merit CEO, Tomer Kagan. “Florida should be applauded for quickly delivering digital credentials to all medical professionals and allowing for immediate verification for hundreds of thousands of professionals wanting to provide assistance anywhere in the state. In addition, by partnering with Merit, Florida is well-positioned for important interstate license reciprocity functionality in the near future.”

In addition to government agency partners in professional licensing, occupational regulation, and workforce development, Merit works with the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, the National CERT Association, and other trusted emergency management organizations.

Health care providers and emergency services professionals just need to accept their digital licenses through Merit to be prepared to quickly respond to emergencies, including COVID-19, hurricanes, wildfires, and other emergencies. Florida’s health care responders can learn more about the partnership and Merit’s platform at merits.com/floridaready.

About Merit

Merit is the interoperable ecosystem for all digital credentials issued by trusted organizations. The platform allows everyone to access, track, and organize their licenses and credentials in real-time. Merit works with more than 1,000 organizations for professional licensing, occupational regulation, workforce development, emergency services, and other digital credentialing needs.