News

SUBMIT YOUR ACCME 2022 MEETING PROPOSALS BY NOVEMBER 5 

We want to hear from you during the ACCME 2022 Meeting! We encourage you and your teams to send in submissions to our Call for Proposals, which will be open until Friday, November 5, at 11:59 pm CT. We are soliciting three types of proposal submissions from anyone planning to attend the meeting—to be held from April 26-28, 2022, as a hybrid experience with both in-person and online participation opportunities. You are welcome to submit multiple proposals for any option and/or across multiple option types. Download this information sheet with the details and guidelines for submission. Visit our Call for Proposals webpage to submit your proposal.  

If you need further assistance, please contact us at education@accme.org.

LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER FOR FREE STANDARDS WEBINAR TOMORROW  

Join us for a free webinar, open to all, on October 28, 2021, from 1:00-2:30 pm CT, to support your successful transition to the Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education.

• Learn about newly available Standards resources.  
• Hear from your colleague providers about their successes, challenges, and lessons learned implementing the Standards.  
• Ask ACCME staff your questions.  

Register here.

MARYLAND BOARD OF PHYSICIANS JOINS STATE MEDICAL BOARDS COLLABORATION

We’re delighted to announce that the Maryland Board of Physicians (MBP) has joined our collaboration with state medical boards, a collaboration that also includes the boards in California, Maine, North Carolina, and Oregon. With the launch of the new, improved Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS) on November 16, accredited providers will have the opportunity to report data in PARS about physicians licensed in Maryland, as well as any other state, who have completed their CME activities. 

Learn more about the MBP collaboration here and the new PARS here. 

IMPORTANT NOTICE: PARS DOWNTIME FOR TRANSITION TO NEW PARS

We’re excited to share that the new, improved Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS) will launch on November 16, 2021. To implement the transition, we need to schedule PARS downtime. 

From Thursday, November 11, at 5 pm CT, until Tuesday, November 16, at 9 am CT: 

• You will not be able to use the activity or learner reporting functions in PARS via any of the reporting methods (web interface, batch upload, and web services).
• If your organization is currently using web services to report data automatically to PARS, we recommend placing the programmatic communications on hold for the duration of the PARS outage. Otherwise, you will need to repeat communications you send to the PARS Application Programming Interface (API) after PARS is back online. 
• You will still be able to log in and access the accreditation management system.

Beginning November 16, at 9 am CT, you will have access to the new, improved PARS! Read more about the new features and enhancements. Watch your inbox for the launch announcement. We'll provide complete details and resources about using the new PARS.   

Questions? We’re happy to help! Please contact us at info@accme.org.

ACCME Academy Spotlight 

EXPLORE THE EFFECTIVE TEACHING TOOLKIT CURRICULUM 

Looking for strategies for increasing the effectiveness of your education? Explore the new ACCME Academy course, Using Adult Learning Theory to Promote Learning, which introduces foundational aspects of adult education, including the characteristics and fundamental needs of adult learners. This course is a part of the Effective Teaching Toolkit curriculum—new courses will be added regularly to help support your professional development. 

ACCREDITATION TIPS: TEAM-BASED COMMENDATION CRITERION  

The second video in the micro-learning video series, Accreditation Tips, is now available! Check out the video here to learn from ACCME Executive Vice President Kate Regnier, MA, who shares tips for meeting expectations for the commendation criterion, Promotes Team-based Education.

HAVE YOU CREATED YOUR COMPLIMENTARY ACCME ACADEMY ACCOUNT? 

Every accredited provider in the ACCME System, including ACCME-accredited, state-accredited, and jointly accredited providers, has access to three complimentary ACCME Academy accounts through the end of 2021. Visit the ACCME Academy webpage to learn more.

Reminders for Accredited Providers   

ANNUAL ACCREDITATION FEE SCHEDULE 2022-2023

Two years ago, the ACCME implemented a tiered fee structure for annual accreditation fees to distribute the responsibility for sustaining our accredited CME system more fairly among programs of different sizes. We were able to keep those tier-based fees unchanged for 2020 and 2021. We are pleased that again, in 2022, there will be no increase in fees for each tier. We do anticipate fee increases for 2023, and we are providing you with the information now to support your planning and budgeting processes.   

Your fee for last year was based on data you reported for the 2016-2018 reporting years. Unless the size of your CME program as measured by activities and learners has changed significantly over the last two years, your 2022 fee will not change from last year.  

Earlier this week, we sent invoices to ACCME-accredited providers as well as those accredited by the California Medical Association, Massachusetts Medical Society, and Missouri State Medical Association (at the request of those state medical societies). Payment will be due by January 31, 2022. Read more here. The fee schedule is posted here. 

If your organization is accredited by the ACCME or one of the state medical societies listed above and you did not receive this information, please contact info@accme.org. If your organization is accredited by a state medical society not listed above, please contact your accreditor. 

GET STARTED NOW WITH YEAR-END REPORTING AND MOC LEARNER-COMPLETION DEADLINES  

We’re working hard to streamline data entry and your year-end reporting process in the new version of the Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS), scheduled for launch on November 16. We encourage you to get a jumpstart on the March 31, 2022, year-end reporting deadline and begin entering your data now. All data that you enter will be migrated over to the new PARS—you will not need to reenter any data. 

CME For Continuing Certification/Maintenance of Certification  

If you are entering activities that count for continuing certification/maintenance of certification (CC/MOC), make sure that you submit learner completion data into PARS for each activity registered for CC/MOC. 

Learn more about the new PARS and year-end reporting, including deadlines for CC/MOC,  here.  

Career Opportunities 

The ACCME has two position openings. Interested candidates should send their cover letter and resume to 230resumes@mysynergy.com.     

• COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR: Our team is looking for a Communications Coordinator to support and improve the ACCME’s communications via multiple channels including websites, social media, podcasts, e-newsletters, articles, and reports.
• BI/SQL DEVELOPER: We have an opening for a BI/SQL Developer to support SSIS ETL processes and create Power BI dashboards and reports that will be embedded in a React single page application and a SharePoint Intranet application.

In Case You Missed It 

• ACCME Awards Research Grant to Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education 
• Your Doctor Has Feelings Too: Why We Should Care About Physician Burnout