Practice Economics
CHICAGO – The American Medical Association should continue to work with the American Board of Medical Specialties to address physicians’ concerns about Maintenance of Certification – that was the consensus at the annual meeting of the AMA House of Delegates.
The AMA’s delegates defeated a resolution that asked the organization to put a moratorium on MOC until it was proven to improve the quality of care and patient outcomes. However, they did agree to a new policy that directs the AMA to:
Alicia Ault/Frontline Medical News
The AMA's delegates defeated a resolution to put a moratorium on MOC until it was proven to improve quality of care and patient outcomes.
• Explore with independent entities the feasibility of conducting a study to evaluate the effect MOC requirements and Maintenance of Licensure principles have on workforce, practice costs, patient outcomes, patient safety, and patient access.
• Work with the American Board of Medical Specialties and its 24 member boards to collect data on why physicians choose to maintain or discontinue their board certification.
• Work with the ABMS and the Federation of State Medical Boards to study whether MOC and the principles of Maintenance of Licensure are important factors to physicians when deciding whether to retire and whether they have a direct effect on workforce.
• Oppose making MOC mandatory as a condition of medical licensure, and encourage physicians to strive constantly to improve their care of patients by the means they find most effective.
The new policy applies to both the ABMS MOC process and the Osteopathic Continuous Certification (OCC) process.
Physicians have increasingly voiced their concerns about MOC. Dr. Paul Teirstein, chief of cardiology and director of interventional cardiology for Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, Calif., launched a petition drive to overhaul the American Board of Internal Medicine’s MOC process. The petition has more than 17,000 signatures.
The ABIM says that it is listening to physicians and is making changes in the process, but also recently said that more than 150,000 physicians had participated in its MOC process – making the May 1 deadline to be listed on the ABIM website as having met the MOC criteria.
But anger is still bubbling up, and was expressed at the AMA’s meeting.
"Practicing physicians on the front lines are increasingly burdened, hassled, and confused by the onerous and expensive process of Maintenance of Certification and Maintenance of Licensure," said Dr. James A. Goodyear, a delegate from Pennsylvania.
Dr. Goodyear introduced the resolution to seek a moratorium on the MOC.
But Dr. Darlyne Menscer, a member of the AMA Council on Medical Education, told the delegates that such a moratorium would put a wedge in the close working relationship the AMA has had with the ABMS. "This is more prescriptive than we can commit to as a council, although we definitely do hear the concerns of the House," added Dr. Menscer.
The AMA has been discussing the concerns about MOC with the ABMS, most recently holding a meeting in Chicago in early June.
Dr. Joshua Cohen, a delegate from the American Academy of Neurology, and a member of the AMA Foundation’s Board of Directors, who attended that meeting, also argued against a moratorium. "It would make it impossible for the AMA to improve the process going forward," said Dr. Cohen.
Dr. Chuck Wilson, a pediatrician and delegate from the North Carolina delegation, also opposed any major change in direction for the AMA. He noted that if the AMA was seen as opposed to MOC, it might not be viewed well. "We all want it to be less onerous," said Dr. Wilson. But, he noted, "the Council on Medical Education is working in that direction. Let’s give them a chance to be successful."
In a statement after the HOD meeting, the AMA said that it "continues to ensure the MOC process does not disrupt physician practice or reduce the capacity of the overall physician workforce." Concerns about MOC "center around the need for relevance to the daily practice of physicians and the better integration into physician practices to optimally support learning and improvement."
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