The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) and the American Board of Pathology (ABPath) are pleased to announce a new collaboration to simplify the integration of accredited continuing medical education (CME) and Continuous Certification (formerly referred to as Maintenance of Certification).
The ACCME and ABPath share a commitment to supporting pathologists’ continuing professional development and to improving pathologists’ performance and their care of patients. The collaboration is designed to expand the number and diversity of accredited CME activities that meet the ABPath’s Continuous Certification requirements and to streamline the process for accredited CME providers and ABPath diplomates. The ACCME and ABPath pursued this collaboration in response to the needs and requests of diplomates and of accredited CME providers that support pathologists’ lifelong learning and improvement.
The collaboration with ABPath continues the ACCME’s commitment to supporting the goals of Continuous Certification and Maintenance of Certification. The ACCME has also developed collaborations with the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA), the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM), and the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP).
Under this collaboration, all accredited providers must clearly indicate to learners that the activity has been registered to offer credit in the ABPath Continuous Certification materials and brochures (not applicable to initial, save-the-date type activity announcements). The language shall note what type of credit is available (i.e., Lifelong Learning (Part II), Self-Assessment Module (SAM), and/or Improvement in Medical Practice (Part IV))and the number of credits.
All accredited CME providers in the ACCME System already use the Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS) to enter data about each of their CME activities. CME providers now have the option to also use PARS to register activities that began on or after January 1, 2018 for ABPath Continuous Certification. CME providers that choose to participate will use PARS to attest their activities’ compliance with ABPath Continuous Certification requirements.
Comments from Leadership
“The ABPath is committed to a meaningful and relevant Continuous Certification program that demonstrates to the public and the profession that our diplomates are current in their medical knowledge and are continually striving to improve their practice and provide excellent patient care. Our partnership with ACCME and CME providers is another initiative to strengthen our Continuous Certification program and provide a service to our diplomates that facilitates their participation in the program, “ said Rebecca L. Johnson, MD, CEO, American Board of Pathology (ABPath).
“We share a common mission with our colleagues at ABPath to facilitate the continuing professional development of physicians. We celebrate our collaboration because it will generate more opportunities for accredited CME providers to deliver relevant, effective, independent, practice-based education that counts for ABPath Continuous Certification. I look forward to working with ABPath, our community of accredited CME providers, and our community of diplomates to leverage the power of education to drive quality in our medical profession and improve care for the patients we all serve, said Graham McMahon, MD, MMSc, President and CEO, Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME).