FAQs

Learner credit data, also known as learner completion data or individual credit data, are the records of CME and/or Maintenance of Certification (MOC/CC) credits earned by your physician learners through the completion of an accredited CME activity. Only accredited CME providers are able to upload learner credit data into ACCME’s Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS). For your physician learners, this data includes:

• First and last name
• State medical license ID and/or certifying board ID 
• Month and day of birth

By entering learner credit data in PARS, you can:

• Decrease physicians’ reporting burden, giving them more time to focus on patient care.
• Reduce your work responding to queries and certificate requests from physicians; PARS can become your system of record for physician credit data, replacing the need to issue paper or e-certificates following completion of activities. 
• Reinforce the value of your activities to learners and other stakeholders.
• Support regulatory authorities by providing easier access to verified CME and Maintenance of Certification/Continuous Certification (MOC/CC) credit data. Learner credit data entered in PARS will be made available to the participating state medical licensing boards and certifying boards in collaboration with the ACCME, eliminating the need for physicians to track and submit their credits to these boards manually. For all state licensing boards, physician learners are able to create profiles in CME Passport to view and transmit an official transcript of the CME and MOC/CC credit that has been reported on their behalf.

Hear more from ACCME’s CEO and President, Graham McMahon, MD, MMSc, on the value of entering learner credit data in PARS here.

We understand that reporting learner credit data may be a new process for you, and we're here to help! We hosted a series of webinars to demonstrate how to report learner credit data in ACCME’s Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS) and answer questions about the process. The webinar slides are available to download here. View a recording of the webinar here. 

Reporting learner credit data in ACCME’s Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS) is not required. It is an opportunity that has been made available through PARS for all accredited providers so that we can move the system forward to a digitized approach to reporting and managing learner credit data. By entering learner credit data in PARS, you can:

• Decrease physicians’ reporting burden, giving them more time to focus on patient care.
• Reduce your work responding to queries and certificate requests from physicians; PARS can become your system of record for physician credit data, replacing the need to issue paper or e-certificates following completion of activities. 
• Reinforce the value of your activities to learners and other stakeholders.
• Support regulatory authorities by providing easier access to verified CME and Maintenance of Certification/Continuous Certification (MOC/CC) credit data. Learner credit data entered in PARS will be made available to the participating state medical licensing boards and certifying boards in collaboration with the ACCME, eliminating the need for physicians to track and submit their credits to these boards manually. For all state licensing boards, physician learners are able to create profiles in CME Passport to view and transmit an official transcript of the CME and MOC/CC credit that has been reported on their behalf.

CME Passport (formerly CME Finder) is a free, CME activity search engine and centralized web application where physicians can search for CME activities that meet their educational needs as well as create a personalized account to view, track, and generate transcripts of their reported CME and MOC/CC credit. The value of CME Passport in serving our stakeholders depends on you: the more activity and learner credit data that you enter in PARS, the more useful CME Passport will be for physicians.

We encourage you to enter your activities prospectively in PARS, elect to display them in CME Passport, and enter your learner credit data in PARS. The benefits of this process include: 

• Increase visibility of your CME activities; reach a wider audience of learners. 
• Reinforce the value of your activities to learners and other stakeholders. 
• Decrease physicians' reporting burden, giving them more time to focus on their patients, rather than paperwork. 
• Reduce your work responding to queries and certificate requests from physicians. PARS  can become your system of record for physician credit data, replacing the need to issue paper or e-certificates following completion of activities. 
• Support regulatory authorities by providing easier access to verified CME and Maintenance of Certification/Continuous Certification (MOC/CC) credit data. Learner credit data entered in PARS will be reported to the participating state medical licensing boards and certifying boards in collaboration with the ACCME, eliminating the need for physicians to track and submit their credits to these boards manually.

Learn more about CME Passport here.

Accredited providers that are currently entering learner credit data in ACCME’s Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS) can download and use the CME Passport provider mark to help promote this service to their physician learners. Download and learn how to use the mark here.