The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) recently discussed several important announcements in its December 2012 and January 2013 newsletters. The newsletters noted that to meet year-end reporting deadlines, ACCME-accredited providers must complete entering data for 2012 activities and complete 2012 program summary by Friday, March 29, 2013.
The Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS) is always open and providers can enter basic information about an activity before it has taken place and complete the entry after the activity. So far, 414 ACCME-accredited providers have entered more than 24,340 activities into PARS. For more information about reporting, ACCME has several web pages for assistance.
ACCME Clarifies Management of Payments to Reserve Space for CME Activities Held in Conjunction with Other Organizations’ Meetings
In response to questions and input from accredited providers, the ACCME has issued a clarification concerning the management and reporting of payments to reserve space for accredited CME activities (sometimes called satellite symposia) held in conjunction with other organizations’ meetings.
- All funds that originate from an ACCME-defined commercial interest and are paid to reserve space to hold accredited CME activities are considered commercial support.
- As with all commercial support, these funds must be paid directly to the accredited provider responsible for the activity or to a designated nonaccredited joint sponsor.
The accredited provider responsible for the activity that is held in the reserved space must manage and report the funds as commercial support, in accordance with ACCME commercial support requirements (Standards for Commercial Support and related policies).
Accredited providers are expected to comply with this clarification when planning and implementing future activities. ACCME does not expect accredited providers to comply with this clarification retroactively. Accredited providers do not have to revise agreements or plans that are already underway or resubmit or re-categorize financial information that has already been submitted into the Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS). ACCME has provided a Q&A in support of this clarification.
Executive Summary of November 2012 ACCME Board of Directors
At the November 2012 Board of Directors meeting, the ACCME ratified 54 accreditation and reaccreditation decisions, including 14 providers (26%) that received Accreditation with Commendation. The Board ratified 28 progress report decisions. Of those, 20 (71%) progress reports demonstrated compliance with all ACCME requirements previously found in noncompliance. Eight progress reports (29%) did not yet demonstrate compliance in all requirements and the providers are required to submit another progress report.
The ACCME ratified decisions for two providers receiving joint accreditation: Creative Educational Concepts, LLC; and Duke University Health System. The decisions have also been ratified by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).
As of November 2012, there are 701 ACCME-accredited providers. This number includes 16 initial applicants that successfully achieved Provisional Accreditation from the ACCME in 2012. There are 1,330 providers accredited by ACCME Recognized Accreditors (state or territory medical societies that accredit local organizations offering CME).
The ACCME elected James Burke, MD, and Carlyle Chan, MD, as the 2013 Chair and Vice-Chair of the ACCME at the annual meeting of its Board of Directors, held November 29-30, 2012, in Chicago. The ACCME also elected the following new Board members:
- Shannon K. Bolon, MD, MPH, Primary Care Medical Education Branch Chief, Health Resources and Services Administration, Rockville, MD
- Galicano F. Inguito, Jr., MD, MBA, Associate Residency Program Director, Family Practice Residency Program, St. Francis Hospital, Wilmington, DE
- Victor I. Reus, MD, Professor in Residence, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco
- Michael Romano, MD, MHA, Vice-President of Medical Affairs, Jennie Edmundson Memorial Hospital, Council Bluffs, IA
- David A. Swankin, JD, President and CEO, Citizen Advocacy Center, Washington, DC
Video Interviews: Improving Your CME Professional Practice
The ACCME produced two video interviews providing practical strategies for improving CME professional practice.
- Empowering Staff to Facilitate Content Planning—Marilyn Peterson, MA, CCMEP, Director, CME, Texas Health Research & Education Institute, discusses how her staff became curriculum development specialists, enhancing their engagement with faculty, clinical content planning committees, and health system leadership, and improving the quality and value of the CME program.
- From the Ground Up: Creating Your CME Program—Jane Nester, DrPH, Executive Director, Medical Education/AHEC at Moses Cone Hospital, shares the strategic approaches she used to create a transformative CME program.
The ACCME also produced a video interview series focusing on the strategic value CME brings to graduate medical education.
- Case Study: Integrating CME and GME—Jane Nester, DrPH, Executive Director for Medical Education/AHEC at Moses Cone Hospital, describes how she demonstrates the strategic value of CME to graduate medical education.
- Using CME to Engage Community Physicians in Quality and Teaching—Rani Gereige, MD, Director of Medical Education, Miami Children’s Hospital, discusses CME as a bridge between practice improvement, graduate medical education faculty development, and institutional goals.
The CME Accreditation Statement: What It Means for You
The ACCME has published a new Web page, The CME Accreditation Statement: What It Means for You, which explains the value and benefit of the accreditation system. The Web page is part of ACCME’s ongoing efforts to communicate the value of accredited CME to health professionals and other stakeholders. Accredited providers are welcome to use this content to support their communications with stakeholders.
ACCME Convenes Discussions on Interprofessional Education
The ACCME Board of Directors convened discussions with invited guests about advancing interprofessional continuing education in support of interprofessional collaborative practice.
James M. Galloway, MD, Assistant US Surgeon General, US Public Health Service, and Regional Health Administrator, US Department of Health & Human Services, Region V, discussed his experience working with the Indian Health Service and the National Native American CVD Prevention Program as an example of how interprofessional education and team-based care can address health care disparities.
Kathleen Mudd, MBA, Vice-President for Product Delivery, National Committee for Quality Assurance; and Rowan K. Zetterman, MD, Dean, Creighton University School of Medicine, discussed their experience as jointly accredited providers, describing successful examples of interprofessional continuing education.
Karen Drenkard, PhD, RN, Executive Director, American Nurses Credentialing Center; and Peter H. Vlasses, PharmD, DSc (Hon.), Executive Director, Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, joined with Murray Kopelow, MD, MS(Comm), ACCME President and CEO, to discuss their experience modeling interprofessional collaborative practice through the joint accreditation initiative.
Registration Now Open for April 2013 CME as a Bridge to Quality™ Accreditation Workshop
Registration is now open for the ACCME’s 2013 CME as a Bridge to Quality™ Accreditation Workshop scheduled for April 24-26 in Chicago. A second workshop will be held July 31-August 2.
ACCME Presents at CME Provider Meetings in New Mexico, South Carolina, Washington State
The ACCME participated in several CME events in New Mexico, South Carolina, and Washington State during the last few months:
- Steve Singer, PhD, ACCME Director, Education and Outreach gave presentations at the New Mexico Accredited CME Providers Annual Training Conference held by the New Mexico Medical Society in October and the South Carolina Medical Association CME Provider Workshop held in November.
- Murray Kopelow, MD, ACCME President and Chief Executive, led a session at the 2012 Washington State Medical Association CME Provider Conference held in December.
ACCME Participates in ABMS, AHA, CMSS Meetings
The ACCME participated in the following meetings during the past few months as part of its ongoing collaboration with member organizations.
- Carlyle Chan, MD, member, ACCME Board of Directors, attended the Fall 2012 ABMS Board Congress, held by the American Board of Medical Specialties in September in Chicago. Kate Regnier, MA, MBA, ACCME Deputy Chief Executive and COO, participated in an American Board of Medical Specialties Maintenance of Certification® Committee meeting held in December in Chicago.
- Kate Regnier, MA, MBA, ACCME Deputy Chief Executive and COO, participated in a meeting of the Lifelong Physician Development Stakeholder Workgroup convened by the American Hospital Association (AHA) in October in Chicago.
- Ms. Regnier also participated in the Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS) 2012 Annual Meeting, held in November in Washington, DC. The CMSS is an ACCME member organization.
CE Accreditors Meeting Focuses on Interprofessional Education, Joint Accreditation
The ACCME and its colleague accreditors, the (ACPE) and the (ANCC), held a meeting to discuss interprofessional education and the joint accreditation process developed by the three organizations. The meeting focused on how accreditors could advance interprofessional continuing education in support of interprofessional collaborative practice.
In February 2013, the three accreditors will host a meeting at the ACCME’s offices in Chicago, Interprofessional Accreditation in Support of Interprofessional Education: An Exploratory Meeting of Accreditors. The inaugural meeting will bring together continuing education accreditors from a variety of health professions to identify areas of alignment among the accreditation systems and opportunities to support interprofessional collaborative practice. Representatives from the ACCME, ACPE, and ANCC will describe how the joint accreditation process supports interprofessional education and collaborative practice.
European CME Forum Includes ACCME Presentation
Murray Kopelow, MD, participated in a panel discussion at the Fifth Annual Meeting of the European CME Forum, held in November in London. Joining him on the panel were Dr. Edwin Borman, Secretary-General, European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS)–European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCME), and Pam Montgomery, PhD, Director, Fellowship & Standards and Deputy CEO, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.
The panelists discussed their visions and perspectives of accreditation and CME, based on their experience in their respective countries. Engaging with the audience, they discussed issues including the importance of rigorous accreditation standards, strategies for managing commercial support and conflicts of interest, cross-border recognition of CME, and how to raise the quality of CME. The ACCME participated in the European CME Forum as part of its ongoing efforts to support collaboration in the global CME community.
ACCME-Accredited Providers: 2013– 2014 Fee Schedule Posted
The 2013–2014 fee schedule for ACCME-accredited providers is now available here. Accredited providers should note the following:
2013 Fee Increases: The ACCME Board of Directors approved 2013 fee increases for services including pre-applications, progress reports, extensions, and conference call accreditation surveys.
2014 Fee Structure Change: As we previously announced, in 2014, the ACCME is eliminating the reaccreditation fee. In 2014, the ACCME-accredited provider annual accreditation fee will increase from $3,300 to $5,300. We will continue to assess separate fees for one-time and as-needed services, including pre-applications, initial accreditation, joint accreditation, survey team expenses, extensions, and progress reports.
2012 ACCME State/Territory Medical Society Conference Concludes a Year of Engagement and Collaboration
The 2012 ACCME State/Territory Medical Society Conference: A Conference of Leaders, held December 12-13 in Chicago, was the culmination of a year of engagement and collaboration between the ACCME and Recognized Accreditors.
The conference addressed strategic opportunities for participants to reposition their CME enterprise as an educational home that provides the resources to support the continuing professional development of their physicians—in alignment with the expectations of physician licensure, certification, and health care reform. Sessions also provided hands-on training to support state medical society CME accreditation, interpretation, and decision-making under the ACCME Markers of Equivalency and Accreditation Criteria.
ACCME Participates in Coalition for Physician Accountability Meeting
Members of the ACCME Board of Directors and executive staff participated in a meeting of the Coalition for Physician Accountability held January 7–8 in Dallas. James F. Burke, MD, Chair, and Carlyle Chan, MD, Vice-Chair, ACCME Board of Directors; and Murray Kopelow, MD, ACCME President and Chief Executive, participated in the meeting, which was hosted by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB).
The Coalition for Physician Accountability comprises members from the national organizations responsible for the oversight, education, and assessment of medical students and physicians throughout their medical careers. Its purpose is to strengthen the professional self-regulation system through continuous improvement of medical education, assessment, and practice.