Many who attended the ABIM’s July 15 meeting said that they felt like the organization had heard their concerns. But they are still waiting to see what will happen next.
The changes already announced "are a very good start," said Dr. Weinberger, who said that the ACP hopes that the ABIM board might make more changes at its meeting in August. "This is clearly a work in evolution," he said, adding that the ACP would continue to work with ABIM.
Likewise, Dr. Green said that the SGIM would continue to work in cooperation with the ABIM. The question is how much the ABIM will use the input from the subspecialty societies, he said.
"I left the [July 15] meeting with the impression that they are generally interested in receiving this information, in processing it, and in determining with their board what’s the best pathway forward," said Dr. O’Gara.
Dr. White, however, is a bit more skeptical. "I think the ABIM is going to have to be a lot less arrogant," he said, calling for more accountability by the organization.
ABIM’s changes to MOC
The new set of changes to the maintenance of certification process announced by the American Board of Internal Medicine represented the first time the organization had responded to the many concerns being voiced by individual physicians and representatives of the 26 societies that receive certification through the ABIM.
The changes were contained in a July 28 letter. Among other things, the ABIM said that it will be more transparent in how it governs, and how it reports its income and expenses, and that it will set up a more formal process for communication among those specialty societies and the ABIM’s boards. The group also said that in August, its board will "discuss website language for ‘meeting MOC requirements’."
The ABIM agreed with a recommendation from the American College of Physicians and 14 other medical societies that it should convene a conference dedicated to addressing the concerns about MOC and that it should focus on working with various societies to identify problems and solutions.
The organization also said it is open to research projects that can help determine whether MOC has any impact on the physician workforce.
Some other changes:
• The ABIM is streamlining the process for validating products from other organizations that can be eligible for credit toward Part 2 (medical knowledge). The ABIM will accept products that are Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education–accredited, and it will align its standards with the American Medical Association’s PRA "Category 1 standards, journal-based continuing medical education (CME), test item writing, and Internet point of care learning." The revised program is expected to be available later in 2014.
• If a diplomate takes an exam before his due date and fails, he will have an additional year to pass before being reported as "not certified" or "not meeting MOC requirements."
• Each ABIM specialty board will decide whether underlying certifications are required in each tertiary specialty and conjoint board. A decision is expected by 2015.
• The ABIM acknowledges that the "patient survey" requirement has been confusing. The name will be changed to the "patient voice" and will be designed to ensure that physicians are doing their best to incorporate that voice into their work. There will be four pathways for completing the requirement, including a survey. Specialty boards will determine which options are the most appropriate for each specialty. The deadline for the completion of the patient voice requirement is 2018.
• The organization said it will look into options for discounting its fees for diplomates who want to complete some of their MOC requirements with other groups. However, it said that it might not be able to offer a very deep discount. "We will commit to researching and brainstorming other fee structures," said the ABIM.
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