MOC Archives - Vivacity Consulting

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?”

Steps to Provide MOC to Your Learners

MOC. It’s everywhere in the medical education world! Physicians seem to hate it, your colleagues are confused by it, and you have a mandate from your director to “figure it out.” Where to start?

1. Visit the ABMS website.

http://www.abms.org/Maintenance_of_Certification/

Of particular interest are the pages entitled, “The Value of MOC” and “ABMS Evidence Library.” These pages include information that will help you understand and provide evidence to demonstrate that a Maintenance of Certification program does link to improved clinical performance and outcomes.

2. Review the Four Parts to MOC.

If you work in a CME Office, you are probably being asked to provide CME that meets Part II or Part IV requirements for MOC. Part II is life-long learning and self-assessment or, “Educational and self-assessment programs determined by your Member Board.” Part IV is practice performance assessment or, “Demonstrate your use of best evidence and practices compared to peers and national benchmarks.”

Part II can sometimes be accomplished through the addition of an assessment at the conclusion of an activity.

Part IV is sometimes accomplished in conjunction with the Quality Department, if you have one at your institution. Many medical specialty societies have launched Part IV programs (visit ASTRO’s website to see an example that satisfies the American Board of Radiology’s requirements.)

3. Visit the relevant Board website.

Depending on the specialty, every Board has their own rules.

This is where it may get more complicated. Some Boards, such as the American Board of Pediatrics, have a formal application for approval for 1 program at a time. Other Boards, such as the American Board of Surgery, allow providers to demonstrate compliance with their requirements.

4. Consider a vendor.

Many vendors provide useful services to simplify this for your learners. I have investigated many and have found a few that I really like. You can demo one vendor, the World Continuing Education Alliance, by accessing my free educational site here. You can create a free account and play around with the system. Let me know if you have any questions!