The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) recently announced on its blog that it would extend all maintenance of certification (MOC) requirement deadlines through December 31, 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
ABIM notes that this means no one will lose their certification if they are not able to complete a MOC requirement this year. However, ABIM also recognized that not everyone has been impacted in the same way by COVID-19 and therefore, will continue to offer all exams in 2021 as scheduled.
“We know internists and internal medicine subspecialists have been on the front lines meeting the country’s needs, many experiencing the tragedy of COVID in deeply personal ways,” the ABIM board of directors wrote. “The ABIM board is a diverse set of clinicians practicing in a variety of settings, and just like you, has experienced directly the unprecedented clinical demands posed by the devastating COVID-19 pandemic.”
Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment
In January 2022, ABIM will offer a longitudinal knowledge assessment (LKA). Physicians who opt to delay their 2021 assessment will be able to enroll in the longitudinal assessment when it becomes available (pending availability) or they can continue to take the traditional 10-year MOC examination.
The LKA is a five-year cycle in which physicians answer questions on an ongoing basis and receive feedback along the way as to how they are performing. Under the LKA, participants will have four minutes per question (plus a bank of 30 extra minutes to use annually) and can answer the questions any time using any resources used in practice (except another person).
Under the LKA, participants are offered 120 questions per year delivered on a quarterly basis (600 total) and are permitted to skip a total of 100 questions over the five-year period. Immediate feedback is given (in addition to rationales and references) and feedback relative to standard will be provided with a final score at the conclusion of the five-year cycle. Successfully meeting the performance standard at the close of the five-year period means you can continue with the LKA. If you do not meet the performance standard, you do not lose your certification but you must pass the traditional 10-year MOC exam the following year to remain certified.
Cardiologists
Additionally, the ABIM/ACC Collaborative Maintenance Pathway is an option for physicians in certain cardiology disciplines. In addition to the Collaborative Maintenance Pathway, general cardiologists and cardiology subspecialists have two other assessment options to choose from: (1) the traditional, 10-year MOC exam in Cardiovascular Disease, Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology, Interventional Cardiology and Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology or (2) the Knowledge Check-In, available in 2021 in several cardiology subspecialties.