Vivacity Consulting

Bringing energy and experience to your CME activity

Reporting Learners to PARS? How to Get Started with a Pilot Project

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Getting Started with Learner Credit Reporting in PARS: A Step-by-Step Guide for CME Providers

As a medical education consultant, I’ve worked with many CME providers who are eager to streamline their processes, support lifelong learning, and reduce administrative burden for their teams and physician learners. One of the most impactful ways to do this is by reporting individual learner credit data through the ACCME’s Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS).

Starting with a small pilot can help your organization ease into this process while learning the system. And now, with recent requirements from the American Board of Surgery (ABS), the need for learner credit reporting has become even more urgent.

Why Now? The ABS Requirement

As of 2023, the American Board of Surgery will no longer allow surgeons to self-report their CME credits. Instead, CME providers must submit credit on behalf of surgeon learners via PARS. This change makes it essential for providers who educate surgeons to begin learner credit reporting as soon as possible. If your organization provides CME to surgeons, start your pilot with this group. It will help your learners stay in compliance with Continuous Certification requirements and prevent delays in their certification and license renewal processes.

Why Start with a Pilot?

Launching a pilot allows your organization to:

  • Test the Process: Learn how to navigate PARS in a low-risk setting
  • Identify Barriers Early: Work through technical or administrative challenges
  • Demonstrate Value: Show stakeholders how this supports learners and accreditation alignment

Step-by-Step Guide to Launching Your Pilot

  1. Select a Pilot Activity
    • Choose a recent or upcoming CME activity with a manageable number of learners.
    • Make sure the activity is already entered into PARS.
  2. Gather Learner Information For each learner, you’ll need:
    • First and last name
    • State of licensure
    • License number or National Provider Identifier (NPI)
    • Date of birth (month and day only)
    • Date of activity completion
    • Confirmation of consent to report their data (if needed)
  3. Choose a Reporting Method
    • Manual Entry (best for small groups)
    • Excel Batch Upload
    • Automated Web Services Integration with your LMS
  4. Submit Data in PARS
    • Log in to PARS, locate the activity, and upload learner data.
    • Review and validate the submission.
  5. Evaluate and Refine
    • Solicit feedback from learners and staff.
    • Note technical hiccups or workflow issues and adjust accordingly.

Benefits of Learner Credit Reporting

  • For Surgeons: Required for ABS Continuous Certification
  • For Providers: Positions your CME program as responsive and learner-centered
  • For Regulators: Improves data accuracy and simplifies license renewal processes

Helpful Resources

Take the First Step

Getting started with a pilot is the most efficient way to build comfort and capability with learner credit reporting. And for providers serving surgeons, it’s no longer optional.

Start small and start soon!

Need help planning your pilot or selecting tools to streamline the process? Contact me if you would like assistance.

Vivacity Consulting invited to present at ACCME 2025 Conference

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April 2025: Ms. Schwarz will lead a session entitled, “Your Path to Scholarly Success: Strategies for Research and Publication for JA & ACCME Commendation Criteria” on April 25, 2025 during the ACCME Learn to Thrive Annual Meeting. The session provides a step-by-step framework for turning ideas into impactful research and highlights publication opportunities for CE professionals. By the end, participants will be equipped with the tools and motivation to engage in meaningful scholarship and make lasting contributions to CE.

Job Ads & ACCME Criterion 34

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It’s always interesting to see what jobs are open in our profession! Check out the Alliance for CEhp’s list here and notice if there are any elements in the job descriptions that you think your CME team (or yourself) might be missing. If so, that would be an identified gap for the new Commendation Criterion 34, “the provider supports the continuous professional development of its CME team.” 

Next, consider what resources available to fill that gap? Can you attend a local or national conference? Perhaps watch an archived CMEPalooza session? Or is it something that might require a longer course of study or an advanced degree?

Whatever you decide, working to enhance your skills and expertise in the field of CME in a targeted and intentional way can lead to both professional satisfaction and organizational compliance.

Your CME Program and the C-Suite

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Hitting Overall Program Targets with the C-Suite and Other Stakeholders Presentation

Ms. Schwarz will join three other prestigious faculty members on Saturday, January 28th in San Francisco during the Alliance Annual Conference to discuss ways in which we can show our value to our internal stakeholders and collaborate with the C-Suite to influence organizational goals.

This interactive session will include self-reflection about your overall Mission Statement, case study examples of successful C-Suite interactions, and additional discussion of strategies to implement changes in your own organization.

Ms. Schwarz will focus on strategies to draw out critical analysis from your content experts when reviewing overall program data. She will also discuss best practices for using existing data to define goals.

Dr. Erik Brady, PhD, CHCP, Principal Consultant, EDBPhD Consulting, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, will lead the session. The panel will also include Jacqueline Steltz-Lenarsky, MA, Manager, Continuing Medical Education, Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, Burbank, California and Nicholas Testa, MD, Chief Medical Oficer, Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, Burbank, California.

Please join us 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM in the Yerba Buena 1-3 Room.

For more information about the Alliance 2017 Annual Conference, please visit: http://www.acehp.org/p/cm/ld/fid=22

 

SCMEC “Compliant or Not?” Webinar

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Ms. Schwarz presents during “Compliant or Not” Webinar

Ms. Schwarz served as faculty on the first Southern California Medical Education Council (SCMEC) webinar, presented June 14, 2016 and archived on the website (see below). The interactive scenarios may stimulate your own questions. Please contact Vivacity to discuss further!

http://www.scmec.org/conferences/quarterly-meetings/2016-webinar/

Adding Value to Your CME Program: ABIM Part 2 MOC Credits

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CME Providers: Add ABIM Part 2 MOC Credits to Your Program Now

You are already providing high quality medical education to your physician learners. You can now help learners even more by providing required American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) medical knowledge points.

The ABIM requires physicians to obtain 20 medical knowledge points every five years, and must complete at least one MOC activity every two years. Your activities can be adapted to satisfy this requirement.

Over 200,000 physicians in the United States are Board Certified by the ABIM, including internal medicine physicians, and specialists in endocrinology, rheumatology, cardiology, infectious disease, gastroenterology, critical care, medical oncology, and more.

Help your physicians fulfill their requirements by adding ABIM Part 2 MOC credits to your CME program.

Recently, the ABIM have revised requirements so that accredited CME providers may offer education that is eligible for MOC points. This opportunity adds tremendous value to your CME program. 

All regulatory changes require a modified approach to compliance, but the ABIM and ACCME/IMQ have collaborated to minimize the impact upon providers. You probably do not need to make very many changes to the excellent education you are already offering. At the recent IMQ Provider Conference, the ACCME CEO, Dr. Graham McMahon encouraged CME providers to consider adding ABIM Part 2 MOC to their program.

If this will add value to your activities and your organization in the eyes of attendees, but you are not sure how to make this happen, Vivacity Consulting can help. We are seasoned CME professionals with extensive experience working with hospitals, health systems, specialty societies and medical education companies.

Please contact us to learn about our pricing structure. We will assess your program, help you edit your documentation, recommend process improvements, and assist with reporting requirements.

If you are ready to give physicians the credit they deserve for the education you are already providing, contact Vivacity Consulting to help.

You might be interested in the following post as well, entitled, “Who Me, Provide MOC?”