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Physicians who are grandfathered from maintenance of certification requirements may soon be listed differently on the American Board of Internal Medicine website.
The ABIM site currently reports publicly whether or not physicians are "Meeting Maintenance of Certification Requirements," and that status means grandfathered physicians do not appear to be meeting MOC requirements on the American Board of Medical Specialties’ Certification Matters website.
Dr. R. Mack Harrell
"Not meeting MOC requirements’ is, in essence, a scarlet letter meant to pressure grandparents into enrolling in the current flawed MOC system," Dr. Mack Harrell, president of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, said in a June 30 letter to the ABIM. The Endocrine Society and AACE have asked that no information be publicly reported until the ABIM addresses the MOC concerns of internal medicine specialists and subspecialists.
At an August meeting, ABIM agreed that the language "is causing legitimate confusion." Grandfathered physicians are encouraged but are not required to participate in MOC, yet they are still being listed as either meeting or not meeting the MOC requirements, according to an Aug. 15 statement from the board.
The board is "exploring what changes to the reporting language can be made," according to the statement. The issue is making sure that "reporting of certification status is clear and consistent across the community of specialty boards."
The nature and timing of the change has not yet been decided by the board, ABIM spokesperson Lorie Slass said. "We want to work with ABMS to make sure there is consistency and clarity in web reporting."
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