Expectations & Eligibility

The organization must:

• Be developing and/or presenting a program of CME for physicians on a regular and recurring basis.
• Not be an ineligible company.
• Not be developing and/or presenting a program of CME that is, in the judgment of the ACCME, devoted to advocacy on unscientific modalities of diagnosis or therapy.
• Present activities that have “valid” content.
  • Specifically, the organization must be presenting activities that promote recommendations, treatment or manners of practicing medicine that are within the definition of CME.
  • Providers are not eligible for accreditation if they present activities that promote treatments that are known to have risks or dangers that outweigh the benefits or are known to be ineffective in the treatment of patients.

The ACCME accredits the following organizations, if they choose to seek accreditation:

• State medical societies
• Liaison Committee for Medical Education (LCME)-accredited schools of medicine
• National physician membership organizations
• National medical specialty societies 
• Other organizations whose programs of CME serve physician learners, 30% or more of whom are from beyond the home or contiguous state(s) of the organization.
  • Organizations whose programs of CME primarily serve physician learners, 70% or more of whom are from the home or contiguous state(s) of the organization, are usually accredited by an ACCME recognized state medical society.
  • Note that a CME provider may not maintain both ACCME accreditation and accreditation by a state medical society at the same time.
  • If a state medical society accredited provider alters its function and successfully achieves ACCME accreditation, that provider must notify the respective state medical society. 
  • A similar process follows for ACCME accredited providers that become accredited by a state medical society.
• Organizations located or incorporated outside the US or its territories

When there is a question regarding eligibility, the ACCME reserves the right to make decisions on the issue, and has a formal process in place to do so.

EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS (NON-US ORGANIZATIONS)

Organizations located or incorporated outside the US or its territories that are applying for ACCME accreditation for the first time are required to attend one of the ACCME’s live educational activities in person prior to the submission of the application for Initial Accreditation and before the organization would be scheduled for an Initial Accreditation review.  The ACCME’s Annual Meeting, Learn to Thrive, which includes a “Getting Started” pre-conference, is usually offered in the spring each year. In addition, the ACCME’s Accreditation Workshop is offered once each year, with a focus on the ACCME’s Accreditation Requirements, usually in the summer. Information about these events, when available, will be posted on the Events webpage of the ACCME’s website. 

EXPECTATIONS

The ACCME has several expectations of those who apply for ACCME accreditation:

• Eligible organizations that decide to apply for ACCME accreditation should be prepared to both describe and furnish evidence that demonstrates compliance with the accreditation requirements. For this reason, organizations applying for ACCME accreditation must plan, implement, and evaluate at least two CME activities that are developed to meet these requirements, within approximately twenty-four months prior to the submission of materials for initial accreditation.
• The ACCME expects its accredited providers to monitor their overall CME program (the CME “program” is all of the activities accredited by the CME provider) for compliance with the accreditation requirements and to fulfill annual reporting requirements. For a description of the ongoing responsibilities of ACCME accredited providers, see Maintaining Accreditation
• Payment of certain fees is required to obtain and maintain ACCME accreditation. For a schedule of current ACCME fees, click Fees for ACCME-Accredited Providers
• The ACCME conducts its affairs in English and requires that all information be submitted in English.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

A Note Regarding Vendors of Accreditation Compliance Advice and Products

Please be advised that the ACCME has no relationship with and does not endorse any vendor providing accreditation compliance advice or products to CME providers. The ACCME has neither approved nor disapproved the advice or products of any such vendors.

Regarding Confidentiality

• Please refer to the ACCME Information and Confidentiality Statements in the ACCME Policies for information regarding the confidentiality of provider data during the accreditation process.

ACCME Corporate Structure Review Process

The ACCME’s Corporate Structure Review process is in place to assist organizations in determining whether they, or an educational partner, may be an ineligible company. 

The intent is to ensure that accredited CME and eligibility to be accredited be kept separate and independent from ineligible companies, as required by the ACCME Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education.

The ACCME has provided a set of self-assessment questions for use in determining whether an entity may be an ineligible company. These self-assessment questions may be found here.

If an organization answers yes to any of these questions, they would be defined by ACCME as an ineligible company. If after answering these questions, the organization still has questions regarding its status, it may wish to request that the ACCME conduct a corporate structure review.

An organization may contact the ACCME directly at info@accme.org if they wish to pursue having ACCME perform a corporate structure review. There is a fee ($4,000) for organizations that wish to have a corporate structure review conducted.