ACCME and ABIM Making it Easier for CME Providers to Offer Activities that Quality for MOC

The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (AACME) announced on Sept. 30, 2015, that its collaboration with the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) will make it easier for CME providers to offer CME activities that qualify for ABIM Maintenance of Certification (MOC) credit.

According to ACCME’s news release, this simpler, more unified process, includes that:

  • CME providers are no longer required to submit applications to ABIM for activity peer review approval.
  • Instead, accredited CME providers are able to use the ACCME Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS) to register activities for ABIM’s MOC program.
  • As part of this registration process, providers attest to compliance with requirements for the ABIM Medical Knowledge Assessment Recognition Program, agree to collect the required individual participant completion data and submit it via PARS, agree to abide by ABIM/ACCME requirements for use of the data, agree to allow ACCME to publish data about the activity on ACCME’s website, and agree to comply with requests for information about the activity if it is selected for an MOC audit by the ACCME.
  • The ABIM MOC registration process is available for all CME providers in the ACCME System, including state-accredited providers, providers directly accredited by the ACCME, and providers that have received Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education™.
  • This collaboration offers additional choices but no new ACCME requirements. CME providers in the ACCME System have the option—but are not required—to offer accredited CME that meets ABIM’s MOC program requirements and to submit activity and participant completion data through PARS to ABIM.

The Pennsylvania Medical Society continues to lead efforts to improve the MOC process for physicians.