There are 75 ABMS-recognized subspecialties. The newest are hospice and palliative care (pending) and sleep medicine (2006). There is also a precedent for subspecialty fields to evolve to become primary boards, such as radiology.
“We realized addiction medicine would not become a primary board. It would be difficult because of the huge cost involved and a perception of taking physicians from other specialties,” Dr. Kunz said.
The last specialty to form a primary board at inception was medical genetics, which formed in 1991 after 26 years as a self-regulated board.
“Whatever we come up with, we will have to develop a grandfather clause. But it will still have to meet ACGME [Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education] and ABMS criteria,” Dr. Goldsmith said.
There are big challenges ahead, he said. “What happens to people with ASAM credentials today? How will we grandfather them in?” He added, “But we realize that an ABMS-recognized specialty of addiction medicine is exactly the direction we need to go.”