Decision to Suspend Aspects of Maintenance of Certification Program Extended

(HealthDay News) — The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) is extending (through the end of 2018) its decision not to require internists to complete various controversial parts of its Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program in order to keep their certification status, according to a report published in Medical Economics.

The initial decision to suspend the requirement for completing activity in the practice assessment, patient voice, or patient safety parts of the certification process was made in February 2015 for 2 years.

In order to keep their board certification, physicians will still be required to pass an examination every 10 years, earn 100 MOC points every 5 years, and complete some MOC-related activities every 2 years. 

The ABIM is currently working with the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to investigate additional ways of allowing continuing medical education activities to count toward MOC requirements.

“We have heard from many stakeholders that it is good for patients when physicians regularly evaluate and improve the quality of their care, but we have learned there are a myriad of ways physicians do this today, and that our MOC program should credit clinically meaningful activities,” said Richard Baron, MD, ABIM’s president and chief executive officer, according to the article.

Reference

1. Bendix J. ABIM extends practice assessment decision. Med Econ. January 9, 2016. http://medicaleconomics.modernmedicine.com/medical-economics/news/abim-extends-practice-assessment-decision. Accessed January 14, 2016.