Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS) Information Page
This page features the latest updates regarding the ACCME's Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS). PARS is a Web-based portal designed to streamline and support the collection of program and activity data from accredited continuing medical education providers.
ACCME-accredited providers are required to use PARS. Some Recognized Accreditors have opted to use PARS for their providers. Intrastate providers should check with their accreditor for information.
Login instructions:
ACCME Recognized Accreditors and accredited providers can login to PARS here or by clicking on the login buttons located within the For Accreditors and For CME Providers sections of the ACCME Web site.
Providers Use PARS to Fulfill 2012 Year-End Reporting Requirements
We appreciate the efforts made by ACCME-accredited providers to use the Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS) to fulfill the ACCME’s year-end reporting requirements by the deadline of March 29. We are currently reviewing the data submitted and will contact providers as needed with questions.
As a reminder, PARS is always open and ACCME-accredited providers are welcome to enter data for activities scheduled through 2014. We encourage you to enter your PARS data as you plan and implement your CME activities, rather than waiting until the annual deadline. You can enter basic information about an activity before it has taken place and complete the entry after the activity.
PARS Improvements
The ACCME implements improvements to support your data entry based on feedback from accredited providers. For a complete description of all of the changes that have been implemented since PARS was launched, please refer to the PARS Release Notes. Following is a summary of the most important improvements.
Batch UploaD Resources:
PARS Tab-delimited Upload Process: A Tutorial
Tab Delimited Upload Template for 2011 and After
Tab Delimited Upload Instructions for 2011 and After
XML Upload Template and Instructions for 2011 and After
In-Kind Commercial Support: The ACCME no longer requires providers to quantify the dollar value of in-kind commercial support; instead you must report the nature of in-kind support for activities scheduled for 2011 and beyond. See this Ask ACCME Q&A.
Copying activities: If you provide the same activity in multiple locations or provide the same activity year after year, you can save time entering data about these activities by using the copy function in PARS. See this Ask ACCME Q&A.
Deleting activities: You can delete more than one activity at a time. See this Ask ACCME Q&A.
Multiyear commercial support: We clarified our instructions for designating commercial support for multiyear activities. See this Ask ACCME Q&A.
Activity summary: You can download a PDF summary of your closed activities for the year, including the types of activities, numbers of participants, hours of instruction, and financial data. To access this function, click on the Activities tab, and then click on Download Summary of Closed Activities, which appears under Organization on the left-hand navigation bar.
Activities selected for review: To support the reaccreditation process, you have the ability to download an Excel spreadsheet with the activities the ACCME has selected for review. Click on the Activities tab, click on Download Activities Selected for Review, which appears under Activities on the left-hand navigation bar. Please note: This feature is only active if you are engaged in the reaccreditation process.
Data Entry: You are welcome to enter data for activities scheduled through 2014. We have not opened PARS for data entry for activities taking place in 2015 and beyond to ensure that we can implement future improvements without making it necessary for providers to reenter data.
Ongoing PARS Help
PARS Release Notes offers a brief, up-to-date summary of the enhancements we have made, with links to relevant Q&A, for your quick reference. This tool will be especially helpful to providers using PARS on a frequent basis. To access our online library of PARS educational resources, including video tutorials and FAQs, visit the Ask ACCME Q&A and click on ACCME's Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS) in the topics menu. In addition, after you have logged into PARS, you can click on Help at the top of each screen or the question marks (?) on each page to receive assistance. If you can't find the assistance you need, please submit your questions using the Contact Support interface within PARS. As always, you may contact us with any questions you may have.
PARS Survey Results
Many thanks to the 222 (32%) of the 694 ACCME-accredited providers who responded to our survey and gave us their feedback about their experience with PARS. The majority of providers reported that they found PARS easy to use and found the education and support resources helpful. Providers also shared feedback about the overall benefits and challenges of PARS. Read more.
