Final answer:
An approved designated equivalent source for actions against a physician's medical license, as per HFAP, is a reputable database or registry equivalent to the National Practitioner Data Bank that keeps track of medical license sanctions and actions by state medical boards.
Step-by-step explanation:
Per the Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP), an approved designated equivalent source for actions against a physician's medical license includes reputable and verifiable databases or registries that document and track state medical board sanctions or actions equivalent to those listed by the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB). Medical institutions typically have to consult these databases as part of the credentialing process to ensure that medical staff have an unencumbered license to practice medicine.
Such databases might include state licensing board websites, which are often considered an authoritative source for checking the current status of a medical license and any disciplinary actions taken against the provider. Other potential sources can include professional society databases and any other verified systems that have rigorous criteria for reporting and provide official documentation of any negative actions.