New Commendation Criteria Resources; PARS Enhancements Coming Soon; Mark Your Calendars: ACCME 2021 Meeting
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News
MARK YOUR CALENDARS: ACCME 2021 MEETING
We’re excited to announce that the ACCME 2021 Meeting will take place online the last week of April 2021. Our goal is to invigorate our community of accredited providers and educational leaders, continue the momentum we’ve created together this year, and share strategies and lessons learned to help us meet the challenges ahead. Look for more details in the coming weeks, including our Call for Submissions, registration details, and schedule. Mark your calendars and prepare to join us in 2021!
COMING IN SPRING 2021: PARS ENHANCEMENTS
We’re continuing to improve the Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS). Our goal is to simplify the data-reporting process for CME providers and increase the value of data for stakeholders, including providers, clinicians, researchers, certifying and licensing boards, and government agencies. This initiative supports our strategic goal to advance data systems.
The enhanced version of PARS will feature a modernized, user-friendly, streamlined interface for activity and learner reporting. Reflecting feedback that we’ve heard from providers and other stakeholders, the new version will:
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Simplify data entry for activities that span multiple years
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Improve options for identifying activity content
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Enable providers to choose to display any of their activities in CME Finder
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Expand and simplify options for entering learner data
We expect to launch the new version of PARS in Spring 2021. Watch for updates in our newsletter and read more on our website here.
NEW REPORT: OPIOID REMS-COMPLIANT ACCREDITED CE ACTIVITIES—2020 UPDATE
The ACCME has released a new data report demonstrating the scope of continuing education (CE) activities that are compliant with the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) related to opioid analgesics.
The new report is available to download here. For more information, visit the CME in Support of REMS webpage.
Tips & Tools
NEW COMMENDATION CRITERIA RESOURCES
We’ve developed several new resources in response to your requests, as part of our ongoing efforts to support the CME community’s successful adoption of the Menu of Criteria for Accreditation with Commendation.
Examples of Compliance and Noncompliance
When we introduced the menu, we created examples of compliance and noncompliance based on our expectations. Now that we have made decisions using the menu, we can share actual examples submitted by CME providers seeking to achieve commendation. Find examples here.
Meeting Compliance Expectations
To help providers determine which criteria to fulfill, we thought it would useful to offer observations from our decision-making process. Each criterion in the menu includes critical elements and standards, which describe expectations and how compliance is measured. Learn more about compliance expectations here.
We have included this information in a new FAQ.
Educational Opportunities
MID-ATLANTIC ALLIANCE FOR CME ANNUAL CONFERENCE—OCTOBER 1 
The Mid-Atlantic Alliance for CME (MAACME) is hosting its virtual annual conference on October 1, 2020. Dion Richetti, ACCME’s Vice President of Accreditation and Recognition, will give the opening presentation, focusing on the Menu of Criteria for Accreditation with Commendation and the shared response of our community to COVID-19.
Registration is available for fee here.
UPCOMING WEBINAR: ADVANCING CARE FOR VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES WITH ACCREDITED CE
In support of National Veterans and Military Families Month this November, the ACCME and the Veterans Health Administration will cohost a webinar on Monday, November 16 at 1:00 pm Central to address how the accredited continuing education community can advance care for veterans and their families.
The webinar is part of our Meeting Challenges Together webinar series, which convenes our accredited continuing education community to address timely concerns and opportunities for our learners, educational teams, organizations, and the communities we serve.
Registration will open within the next few weeks—watch for an email announcement and information on our website.
ARCHIVED CME FOR MOC WEBINAR: USING PARS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE
ACCME staff and participants explored how the Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS) is integrated with the CME for MOC collaboration—including the registration of activities and reporting of learners—as well as strategies to streamline those processes. Learn more here.
PLANNING AND EVALUATION IN SUPPORT OF CME FOR MOC WEBINAR—NOVEMBER 10
Join this webinar to learn about the steps for planning a CME activity that also counts for MOC, and explore how ACCME and MOC requirements are aligned.
Registration will open soon. Look out for an email blast from us with the details.
CME for MOC Updates
HOW TO HELP YOUR ABIM-CERTIFIED PHYSICIANS MEET THEIR FIVE-YEAR MOC POINT REQUIREMENT 
As part of the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program, board-certified physicians need to earn 100 MOC points every five years to stay certified. To provide more flexibility to physicians during the COVID-19 pandemic, ABIM has extended the deadline for all 2020 MOC requirements to 12/31/20. While your learners will not need to earn points by 12/31/2020 to avoid a change in their certification status, encouraging them to earn and claim MOC points as they go ensures the activities they do now will count later and helps avoid any last-minute end of year rush. Learn more here.
AMERICAN BOARD OF PEDIATRICS ALLOWS INTERNET SEARCHING AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES TO COUNT FOR MOC
The American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) announced that beginning in 2021, Internet searching and learning activities will count for ABP Maintenance of Certification (MOC) credit. Accredited CME providers can register Internet searching and learning activities with a start date of January 1, 2021 or later. Activities with start dates in 2020 are not eligible.
Reminders for Accredited Providers
2021 ACCME ANNUAL ACCREDITATION FEE INVOICES AND BILLING CONTACTS
Last year, the ACCME implemented a tiered fee schedule for annual accreditation fees to distribute responsibility for sustaining our accredited CME system more fairly among programs of different sizes. Please see the information below about 2021 fees and invoices.
ACCME-accredited providers: We are pleased to confirm that, as we announced last year, there will be no increase in fees for 2021. All providers will remain in the same tier for 2021. We will send invoices in October and payment will be due February 1, 2021. The fee schedule is posted here. Please make sure that your billing contact information is correct in the Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS).
State-accredited providers: We are pleased to confirm that, as announced last year, there will be no increases in the ACCME’s portion of your fees for 2021. All providers will remain in the same tier for 2021. Please note that your accreditor is responsible for setting your overall fee and has the discretion to make changes. Please make sure that your billing contact information is correct in PARS.
If you have any questions, please contact info@accme.org.
Collaboration and Engagement
PARTICIPATE IN THE NAM SURVEY: PRACTICE GAPS RELATED TO PAIN MANAGEMENT AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE DISORDERS
The Health Professional Education and Training Working Group of The National Academy of Medicine’s Action Collaborative on Countering the U.S. Opioid Epidemic is conducting a survey on health professional practice gaps related to acute/chronic pain management and substance use disorders. The data will supplement an existing literature review analysis and will be highlighted in an upcoming white paper that will serve to accelerate the resolution of persisting practice gaps.
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Current health professionals practicing in a clinical setting can participate here.
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Representatives of an organization that would like to share data or evidence-based insights on health professional practice gaps can participate here.
Please provide your response by Monday, October 5th. If you have any questions about the surveys, please email opioidcollaborative@nasedu.
CONTINUING BOARD CERTIFICATION: SEEING OUR WAY FORWARD
Graham McMahon, MD, MMSc, and Warren Newton, MD, MPH, discuss the importance of collaboration among physicians, educators, and assessors to provide optimal patient care in a peer-reviewed article published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine titled, “Continuing Board Certification: Seeing Our Way Forward.” Read more here.
Connect with Us
COFFEE WITH GRAHAM
Celebrating 10 Years of Joint Accreditation–Now Streaming on All Podcast Apps!
In episode 10 of Coffee with Graham, Kate Regnier, MA, MBA, Executive Vice President, ACCME; Dimitra Travlos, PharmD, Director, Continuing Pharmacy Education Provider Accreditation, ACPE; and Kathy Chappell, PhD, RN, FNAP, FAAN, Senior Vice President, ANCC, discuss Joint Accreditation as we celebrate a decade of shared growth and success in interprofessional continuing education: www.accme.org/coffee-with-graham.
HOW TO NAVIGATE LEARNER FATIGUE FROM ONLINE CME
Delivering and participating in quality continuing medical education (CME) during a global pandemic does not come without its challenges–one of which includes a recent phenomenon known as “Zoom fatigue.” In a LinkedIn article, Graham McMahon, MD, MMSc, ACCME President and CEO, highlights the signs of Zoom fatigue in online learners and shares recommendations for CME educators on how to avoid Zoom fatigue when developing online educational activities. Read more here.