In March, the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) was busy with a number of activities, events and programs. The monthly newsletter noted that the year-end reporting requirements for the Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS) are over and the Board is reviewing submitted data. ACCME reminded accredited providers that they can begin to enter data for activities scheduled through 2013.
As of March 2012, there are 687 ACCME-accredited providers and 1,371 providers accredited by ACCME Recognized Accreditors (state or territory medical societies that accredit local organizations offering CME). Interestingly, the April 2012 Joint Survey of Physician Digital Behavior revealed that an overwhelming majority of doctors (84%) would prefer to attend continuing medical education training online, however, only 6.4% reported actually participating in virtual training or any virtual event very often. Three quarters of physicians said that they are seeing the number of virtual events and webcasts increasing, while 96% see the benefits of being able to attend conferences, meetings and CME events virtually.
The ACCME has now completed accreditation reviews for 613 accredited providers using the 2006 Accreditation Criteria. According to the executive summary of ACCME’s Board of Directors meeting, the Board ratified 46 accreditation and reaccreditation decisions, including 19 providers (41%) that received Accreditation with Commendation (which confers a 6-year term of accreditation).
- 8 of these providers (17%) are required to submit progress reports;
- 11 (24%) do not need to submit progress reports.
- Three providers (7%) were placed on Probation and are required to submit progress reports.
- All 5 of the initial applicants received Provisional Accreditation (11% of the total; 100% of initial applicants).
The Board continued to defer a decision about the implementation of a proposed change in policy that would prohibit the use of corporate logos, slogans, taglines, or references to corporate units in commercial support disclosures. The Board issued a call for comment about the policy last year. The Board decided to defer a decision since the ACCME is now engaging in discussions with the CME community and other stakeholders regarding the strategic imperatives, including discussions about evolving and simplifying the accreditation requirements.
In 2008 and 2009, the Board issued calls for comment regarding commercial support policies in response to congressional committees calling on the ACCME to be more accountable. After further discussion and review of the responses the Board decided not to move forward with the proposals at that time. The proposals were: 1) establishment of a new paradigm for the commercial support of CME; 2) further restrictions on communications from commercial interests; 3) establishment by the ACCME of an independent CME funding entity; and 4) the establishment of accreditation categories designating commercial support-free CME and promotional teacher and author-free accredited CME. The Board revisited these proposals and decided not to implement them or to pursue them any further.
The Board decided to explore the following issues that had been put on hold pending 2011 strategic planning:
- A process for gathering information from accredited providers about the oversight processes they already have in place that are designed to ensure independence and content validity
- The management of funds provided by commercial interests to accredited providers for the purchase of materials associated with their activity, such as jump drives, lanyards, and tote bags
- Strategies for further establishing, verifying, and communicating the ACCME’s internal controls
- The value of converting the Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS) optional fields to mandatory fields, thus enhancing the information that the ACCME collects, analyzes, and publishes. The Board will also consider integrating stakeholder requests to add fields to PARS that would enable the ACCME to gather additional information.
ACCME Convenes Guest Discussions Regarding Strategic Imperatives
On March 22, 2012, the ACCME Board of Directors convened three discussion sessions with invited guests and the member organization liaisons to facilitate the implementation of the ACCME’s 2011 strategic imperatives. The Board identified the imperatives during an all-day strategic planning retreat held in July 2011. As part of the process, the Board incorporated feedback that it had received from stakeholders during the strategic dialogue session held at the March 2011 Board of Directors meeting and the other interactive forums the ACCME has convened with various stakeholder groups. The ACCME Board of Directors identified the following strategic imperatives:
- Foster ACCME Leadership and Engagement
- Evolve and Simplify the Accreditation Standards, Process, and System
- Explore and Build a More Diversified Portfolio of ACCME Products and Services
Guests and topics included the following:
- Richard A. Berger, MD, PhD, Dean of the Mayo School of Continuous Professional Development, Mayo Clinic; and member, ACCME Accreditation Review Committee, presented a case study describing an organizational approach to MOC.
- Barbara Barzansky, PhD, MHPE, Secretariat of the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME); and Timothy Brigham, MDiv, PhD, Chief of Staff and SVP, Department of Education, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME); discussed the integration of education across the continuum.
- Carolyn Clancy, MD, Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ); and Mark Levine, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Denver, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), discussed the opportunities for accredited CME to contribute to an evolving health care system.
ACCME Publishes New Compliance Examples
ACCME added new examples of compliance with ACCME Accreditation Criteria 2 and 11 to the Examples of Compliance and Noncompliance: Findings Based on the ACCME Accreditation Criteria. They noted that these new examples are drawn from recent accreditation reviews. Criterion 2 asks providers to incorporate into CME activities the educational needs (knowledge, competence, or performance) that underlie the professional practice gaps of their learners. Criterion 11 asks providers to analyze changes in learners (competence, performance, or patient outcomes) achieved as a result of the overall programs activity/educational interventions.
The Examples of Compliance and Noncompliance: Findings Based on the ACCME Accreditation Criteria enables providers and CME stakeholders to learn from each other and to understand how the ACCME determines compliance and noncompliance with its requirements. Examples of compliance and noncompliance with each of the Accreditation Criteria, drawn from the accreditation review process, are included.
Access the Web version of the Examples of Compliance and Noncompliance here or PDF of the Examples.
Getting the Most Out of the ACCME Redesigned Web Site
One of most popular video interviews on their Web site, Addressing the Meaningful Use of Health Information Technology with CME, features Dr. Sachin Jain, (former) Senior Advisor to the Administrator at the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services, discussing the important role accredited CME can play to help physicians integrate health information technology into their practices.
ACCME Schedules 2012 Town Halls for Nationally Accredited Providers
The ACCME has scheduled its fourth annual series of town hall meetings for different types of nationally accredited organizations:
- May 10 for publishing and education company providers
- June 20 for government and military providers
- July 19 for medical school providers
- July 31 for nonprofit physician membership organizations
- August 30 for hospitals, health systems, and managed-care/insurance companies
ACCME Presents at AIAMC Annual Meeting, State-Level CME Events
The ACCME presented at several sessions during the Alliance of Independent Academic Medical Centers (AIAMC) Annual Meeting held in March in Tucson. James F. Burke, MD, Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs, Scottsdale Healthcare, and Vice-Chair, ACCME Board of Directors; and Kate Regnier, MA, MBA, ACCME Deputy Chief Executive and COO, moderated a panel session called “Sharing the Vision: Accredited CME in Support of Institutional Efforts,” which focused on how CME can aid institutions in achieving their strategic and operational goals. Murray Kopelow, MD, ACCME Chief Executive, served as a panelist during a session called “Transforming Medical Education.” Dr. Kopelow discussed how accredited CME supports effective, efficient health care delivery.
The ACCME also participated in five state-level CME events during March and April. This participation is part of the ongoing support the ACCME provides for the intrastate accreditation system and for Recognized Accreditors (state/territory medical societies recognized by the ACCME as accreditors of local CME providers).
ACCME Featured on Reach MD Radio
Murray Kopelow, MD, ACCME Chief Executive, was interviewed for Reach MD Radio about CME as a strategic asset to public health initiatives, including the Food and Drug Administration’s Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) for long-acting and extended-release opioids.
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