Call for Feedback: Protecting the Integrity of Accredited CE, Register Now for the ACCME 2019 Meeting, New CME for MOC Planning Tool
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News
Call for Feedback: Protecting the Integrity and Independence of Accredited CE
Executive Summary of the November 2018 Board Of Directors Meeting
CME for MOC Updates
Updates and Deadlines for CME that Counts for MOC
Reminders for Accredited Providers
2019 ACCME Annual Accreditation Fee
Complete Your 2018 Year-End Reporting in PARS
Tools and Tips
CME that Counts for MOC Crosswalk
Our Story of the Month
American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology: Monitoring the Healthcare Landscape
Connect with Us
Clinician Spotlight
Collaborations and Engagement
ACCME Response to Vision Initiative Draft Report
Kickoff Webinar: Action Collaborative on Countering the US Opioid Epidemic
Upcoming Educational Opportunities
Register Now: ACCME 2019 Meeting
CME for MOC: Ask your Questions Webinars March 26 and May 21
Annual ANCC Continuing Nursing Education Symposium
For Your Reference
Evolving Board Certification — Glimpses of Success
In Case You Missed It
Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education Expands to Include Accreditors in Psychology and Social Work
North Carolina Joins the ACCME & State Medical Boards Pilot
News
Call for Feedback: Protecting the Integrity and Independence of Accredited CE
We are pleased to open a call for feedback to review the rules that protect the independence and integrity of accredited continuing education (CE) for healthcare professionals. We are asking you for recommendations about potential revisions to the ACCME Standards for Commercial Support: Standards to Ensure Independence in CME Activities℠ (the Standards) that will ensure their continued relevance and effectiveness.
We welcome responses from all stakeholders through March 8, 2019.
The initiative supports our strategic goal to assure the quality of accreditation and seeks to be responsive to stakeholders who have identified potential improvements over the past several years.
For more information, visit, www.accme.org/my-SCS-feedback.
Resources
Call for Feedback PDF: Information package, including an introduction, the Standards and related policies, and the survey questions. We prepared this to enable you and your stakeholders to review the materials before submitting comments.
Call for Feedback Online Survey
Standards for Commercial Support Resources Webpage: Tips and tools about the Standards and related policies, including FAQ, videos, and examples of compliance and noncompliance.
Executive Summary of the November 2018 Board of Directors Meeting
The Executive Summary of the November 2018 meeting of the ACCME Board of Directors is now available on the ACCME website.
The ACCME made 43 accreditation and 17 progress report decisions. Welcome to the new providers and congratulations to the providers that received Accreditation and Accreditation with Commendation!
We encourage CME providers to celebrate their success in achieving accreditation and communicate the value of their accreditation and accreditation-related accomplishments by informing their community, stakeholders, and the public. You are welcome to use this messaging.
The Board made 11 accreditation decisions for Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education™. Welcome to the new jointly accredited providers and congratulations to the jointly accredited provider that received reaccreditation. Jointly accredited providers are welcome to use the jointly accredited provider mark for education and identification purposes and to award interprofessional continuing education (IPCE) credit for activities that meet the guidelines.
CME for MOC Updates
Updates and Deadlines for CME that Counts for MOC
Get the Word Out: We encourage you to register your CME activities that count for MOC as soon as possible, so that they will be displayed in CME Finder, our online CME search tool for physicians seeking to earn Continuing Certification or MOC credits by participating in accredited CME.
ABA New MOCA Content Outline; Reducing Duplicates:
The American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) has released a new version of the MOCA Content Outline. While much of the outline remains the same, some terms have changed, and any CME activities with a start date on or after January 1, 2019 that are registered for ABA MOCA must be associated with terms from the new content outline. You will continue to enter your ABA MOCA activities the same way you have done with your past activities. To access the changes in an Excel document, view the ABA Updated MOCA Excel Content Outline. - ABA has also implemented the following changes in an effort to reduce the incidence of duplicate MOC credit for their diplomates:
- A diplomate can only receive participation credit for completing each unique activity (ACCME Activity ID) once per day (date completed), and
- If the activity offers both patient safety and non-patient safety CME, two participation records for the unique activity will need to be reported per diplomate per day—one for non-patient safety CME and one for patient safety CME.
- If you have any questions regarding the new content outline or the learner reporting update, please email the ABA team at cme@theaba.org. If you have questions about submitting activity or learner data to PARS, please send an email to info@accme.org.
- For more information, visit the ABA MOCA webpage.
ABO Learner Data:
The Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS) is now open for the submission of American Board of Ophthalmology learner completion data. Learner data submission methods include using the web form, batch upload, and web services. If you have activities for the 2018 reporting year with ABO learner completions, you have until March 31, 2019 to submit them in PARS. You can begin reporting learners for any 2019 activities. - As a reminder, accredited providers are required to submit learner completion data via PARS for each activity registered as meeting ABO requirements.
- For more information, visit the ABO webpage.
ABOHNS Learner Data:
PARS is now open for the submission of American Board of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery learner completion data. Learner data submission methods include using the web form, batch upload, and web services. Accredited providers are required to submit learner completion data via PARS for each activity registered as meeting ABOHNS requirements. - For more information, visit the ABOHNS webpage.
ABP Program Guide:
American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) published an updated version of the ABP Program Guide. “Other” is now included as an activity type for activities registered for the ABP MOC Part 2 program. “Other” can be chosen for activities that involve blended, new, or other approaches that do not fall into one of the established format categories.- ABP MOC Part 2 points may now be earned in differing amounts by the learners and may be reported in quarter hour increments, if appropriate, for 2019 activities.
- For more information, visit the ABP webpage.
Reminders for Accredited Providers
2019 ACCME Annual Accreditation Fee
ACCME-accredited providers: Thank you to those of you who have already paid your annual accreditation fee! If you have not yet paid, this is a friendly reminder—please be sure to submit your annual accreditation fee in the amount of $5,900.00 by January 31 to avoid a change in accreditation status. We sent invoices to the primary contact for each accredited provider in early December. If you need another copy of your invoice, please contact info@accme.org.
Please note: This information applies only to ACCME-accredited providers, not to providers accredited by a state or territory medical society or by Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education. Intrastate providers and jointly accredited providers should check with their accreditor for information regarding accreditation fees.
Complete Your 2018 Year-End Reporting in PARS
To meet your year-end reporting requirements, you must enter data for your 2018 activities and your 2018 program summary in the Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS).
To access PARS, go to https://pars.accme.org, and enter your email and password. If you have forgotten your password or are logging in for the first time, click on, “Can’t log in or forgot your password?” on the login screen. Please note that the first time you access PARS, there is a short delay while the application is loading.
Deadline: For ACCME-accredited and jointly accredited providers, the deadline for completing your 2018 year-end reporting requirements is April 1, 2019. Providers accredited by a state or territory medical society may be required to complete their 2018 year-end report earlier and should check with their accreditor for information.
For more information and links to educational resources, please visit our Data Reporting Requirements and PARS Resources pages.
Tips and Tools
CME that Counts for MOC Crosswalk
CME Providers can use this tool to quickly see which certifying boards are participating in the CME for MOC collaboration and the types of MOC credit offered by each board. It provides unique requirements for each board and includes the MOC language that each board uses with their learners, which can be helpful when communicating with your learners. To use this overview tool, visit the CME for MOC Crosswalk page.
Our Story of the Month
American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology: Monitoring the Healthcare Landscape
This month’s story on our Our Stories: Exemplary Practices webpage features the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, an accredited CME provider in Illinois. Mary Carol Badat, MAdEd, Senior Director of Learning Solutions, shares how the organization monitors the healthcare landscape and identifies factors outside of their control that impact patient outcomes, such as reimbursement and insurance issues, obstacles with ineffective electronic health records systems, organizational culture and systems-based issues at healthcare institutions, and a general lack of resources.
“In one instance, member feedback identified issues with billing and reimbursement for allergen extracts. The Practice Management Committee viewed this as a perfect opportunity for using education as a strategy for improving practice around this issue. We responded by developing webinars and toolkits to improve understanding among clinicians and their teams. As a result, patients’ access to allergen extract treatments increased through better billing and reimbursement practices.”
For more stories about how CME providers are improving healthcare, visit www.accme.org/resources/our-stories.
Connect with Us
Clinician Spotlight
If you know a colleague who makes special contributions to your CME program, then we want to hear from you! As part of our ongoing efforts to promote the value of accredited CME, we are looking to shine the spotlight on clinicians as planners, teachers, learners, or CME committee members in the next issue of our newsletter. Clinician Spotlights will be shared on social media and the ACCME website.
To nominate a clinician, please complete the nomination form and submit it to Megan Peters Jovic, Communications Specialist, at mpeters@accme.org.
Collaborations and Engagement
ACCME Response to Vision Initiative Draft Report
The ACCME submitted a response to the Vision Initiative Draft Report. The report describes recommendations for the evolution of continuing certification. In our response, we described the role and value of accredited CME in supporting the goals of continuing certification and the importance of collaboration between the CME community and the certifying boards. Read our full response to the report. More information about the Vision Initiative is available here.
Kickoff Webinar: Action Collaborative on Countering the US Opioid Epidemic
The National Academy of Medicine will host a webinar on February 13, 2019 from 4:00 – 5:00 pm (ET) that will introduce the Action Collaborative on Countering the US. Opioid Epidemic. We are proud to join this collaborative as a participating group with more than 50 other organizations. Steve Singer, PhD, ACCME VP, Education & Outreach, is a member of the Steering Committee and will participate in the webinar. This public-private partnership is comprised of government, communities, health systems, provider groups, payers, industry, nonprofits, academia, and more – all committed to sharing knowledge, aligning ongoing initiatives, and advancing collective, multisector solutions.
Upcoming Educational Opportunities
Register Now: ACCME 2019 Meeting
Join us, April 30 – May 2, at the ACCME 2019 Meeting and collaborate with your peers and expert faculty to advance your professional development. Take time to build your own skills and make plans for how you will better foster learning and improvement for the practitioners and communities you serve.
Click here to watch the ACCME 2019: Spring Forward video.
CME for MOC: Ask your Questions Webinars March 26 and May 21
We are continuing to offer our series of bimonthly beginner and advanced webinars to discuss strategies for planning CME that Counts for MOC and to answer your questions. For providers who have more experience, our next Advanced CME for MOC: Ask Your Questions webinar is on March 26. For providers who have not yet offered CME for MOC or have just offered a couple of activities, our next Beginner CME for MOC: Ask Your Questions webinar will be held May 21.
Registration information is available on the events section of our website.
Annual ANCC Continuing Nursing Education Symposium
Registration is open for the preconference of the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Pathway to Excellence and the ANA Quality and Innovation’s joint conference, April 23 – 24, 2019, in Orlando. Graham McMahon MD, MMSc, ACCME President and CEO, will present the benefits of leveraging continuous professional development during the two-day event, which brings together continuing nursing education professionals to promote empowerment and innovation in practice. The conference is produced by the American Nurses Credentialing Center and the American Nursing Association. Registration information is available here.
For Your Reference
- “Evolving Board Certification — Glimpses of Success,” New England Journal Of Medicine: Co-authored by the ACCME and the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA), this article describes the collaborative efforts of educators and certifying boards to integrate education and assessment to better meet physicians’ needs. (Subscription or payment required.)