News

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY NOW AVAILABLE: CALL FOR COMMENT ON ONLINE AND SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

On September 12, 2023, ACCME opened a call for comment on Accredited Education Delivered via Online and Social Media Platforms. As platforms for delivering CME online have proliferated, ACCME has been asked to clarify its expectations for accredited providers. Additionally, ACCME solicited input on a proposed designation for internet platforms, video players, and/or social media channels that wish to host accredited educational content and are willing to demonstrate they meet the ACCME’s expectations.

After analyzing the data provided by over 200 respondents, the ACCME concluded that the current requirements in the ACCME’s Standards for Integrity and Independence (the Standards) apply to all accredited education whether the venue is in-person or virtual. In response to several requests for additional guidance, ACCME created answers to frequently asked questions related to online and social media platforms. ACCME does not currently plan to offer a special designation for online platforms but may in the future if circumstances warrant. Learn more.

CELEBRATING PROVISIONAL ACCREDITATION AND ACCREDITATION WITH COMMENDATION ACHIEVED IN 2023

Please join us in welcoming the following organizations that received provisional accreditation in 2023, joining our growing community of accredited CME providers:

We are delighted to acknowledge the following organizations that achieved Accreditation with Commendation in 2023:

“We are proud and grateful for the accreditation with commendation from ACCME. For 50 years, American Association for Physician Leadership (AAPL) has been committed to achieving the highest standards of accreditation for the delivery of CME regarding physician leadership education and management training. This ACCME renewal clearly validates how AAPL portrays its own leadership within healthcare. The association’s commitment to excellence is deep and the AAPL staff are highly professional in their capabilities and ongoing focus to provide a distinctly high level of education for the AAPL constituency of life-long learners.” –Peter Angood, MD, FRCS (C), FACS, MCCM, FAAPL(Hon), President and CEO, AAPL

REGISTER FOR LEARN TO THRIVE 2024 

We’re excited to welcome our dynamic community of continuing education (CE) professionals back to Chicago for Learn to Thrive 2024 on May 14-16, 2024 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago Hotel! At Learn to Thrive, ACCME's annual meeting, you'll join stakeholders from across the healthcare education continuum to learn from the rich diversity of educational and collaborative approaches that improve healthcare each day. We constructed three days of education and networking with your professional development needs in mind - including new opportunities to discover actionable strategies that will optimize your role in helping clinicians deliver quality patient care. Register now!

FIVE LICENSING BOARDS JOIN DATA COLLABORATION WITH ACCME

Five new licensing boards have joined the ACCME and State Medical Licensing Boards Collaboration: 

• Alaska State Medical Board
• DC Health
• Mississippi Board of Medical Licensure
• New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners
• Wyoming Board of Medicine

All state medical licensing boards can access CME credit data reported for their licensees. These five boards join 11 other licensing boards that have designated ACCME’s Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS) as their primary source, or actively use PARS, for CME information required for relicensure.

This collaboration reduces burdens and streamlines the CME reporting process for your learners who are licensed physicians in these areas.

How can I participate?

Using PARS, you can report data about the CME credit that licensees in these states have earned by completing your activities.

The boards can access this data to more easily determine that physicians who are requesting license renewal have fulfilled their CME requirements for relicensure. This will greatly streamline the process for physicians, who will not have to collect and send their CME certificates themselves, and will simplify the audit review process for the licensing boards.

Where can I find resources?

ACCME created the following resources to help you report learner CME credit information in PARS:

• Register for a PARS training to discuss your questions with ACCME staff.
• CME and MOC Learner Reporting Tutorial
• Manually Reporting Learners in PARS Video Tutorial
• Batch Uploading Learners in PARS Video Tutorial

Reminders for Accredited Providers

COMPLETING YOUR ANNUAL REPORTING IN PARS

All accredited providers are required to log in to the Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS) and complete their annual reporting requirements between now and April 1, 2024 at 11:59pm CT.

To complete your annual reporting requirements, you must:

• Accept the terms of the ACCME annual agreement, located on the dashboard in PARS under Provider Agreement(s).
• Enter all activities that started in 2023, and close all of them that also ended in 2023.
• If you provide enduring material activities, update the total cumulative learner counts as of December 31, 2023. Enduring materials should remain open until the end date, which may be up to three years from the start date.
• Complete and submit your Program Summary, located on the dashboard in PARS.
  • Review and update your contact information. You can do this by clicking Back to Accreditation Management in the top right section of the PARS dashboard.

Please note: Providers accredited by a state medical society may be required to complete their annual reporting requirements earlier and should check with their Recognized Accreditor for more information.

Explore our Annual Reporting in PARS page for more information about annual reporting and links to educational resources.

Virtual Annual Reporting Office Hours

Mark your calendars! ACCME is offering virtual  Zoom office hours to answer your annual reporting questions and help you understand reporting requirements, navigate PARS, and complete your data entry before the April 1 deadline. Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation email with Zoom connection details. Register for one of the dates below:

• Tuesday, February 20 from 1:00-2:00pm CT
• Tuesday, March 12 from 12:00-1:00pm CT

ANNUAL FEES DUE WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31

Thank you to those of you who have already submitted payment for your 2024 annual accreditation fees! In September, we sent invoices to ACCME-accredited providers as well as those accredited by the California Medical Association, Massachusetts Medical Society, and Missouri State Medical Association (at the request of those state medical societies). Payment is due by Wednesday, January 31, 2024. The fee schedule is posted here.

AMERICAN BOARD OF PATHOLOGY CREDIT TYPE CHANGE

In response to updates to the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Continuing Certification guidelines, the American Board of Pathology (ABPath) changed the language for their Part IV activities from “Improvement in Medical Practice” to “Improvement in Health and Healthcare.” This change went into effect last week, on January 25, 2024.

If you have an activity registered for ABPath Improvement in Medical Practice, you should have received an email with next steps. There has been no change to the definition of what counts; this is a name change only. No further action is needed if you do not have any activities registered for ABPath Improvement in Medical Practice.

What you can expect:

• On January 25, 2024, ACCME updated activities currently registered for “Improvement in Medical Practice” to “Improvement in Health and Healthcare.” Accepted learner credits were also updated to use the new language.
• As of last week, providers will now need to use the new language when:
  • Registering a new activity for ABPath for Improvement in Health and Healthcare credit;
  • Updating an existing activity that is registered for “ABPath Improvement in Health and Healthcare credit”; and
  • Reporting learner credit for “ABPath Improvement in Health and Healthcare.”

If you have questions about these changes, please contact dataservices@accme.org.

Education & Resources

LEARN MORE ABOUT SACME'S ANNUAL MEETING: EXPLORING THE EXPANDING AND EVOLVING CPD ECOSYSTEM

Join the Society for Academy Continuing Medical Education (SACME) for their annual meeting on March 10-13 in San Diego! This year’s meeting will address the opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence (AI), how CPD/CE can impact the climate crisis; the influence of power and privilege on academic medicine, and best practices for organizations and learners to address complex care needs in under-resourced settings.

Explore the plenary speakers, including ACCME’s President and CEO, Graham McMahon, MD, MMSc, who will discuss engaging tools and strategies to improve the learning experience, the state of CME/CPD, how learners’ needs and expectations are changing, and review design and accreditation best practices. Learn more and register.

Careers 

The ACCME has one open position:

• The Manager, Partnerships and Collaborations plays a crucial role in expanding collaborations across all ACCME stakeholders. We are seeking a motivated and results-oriented individual who can leverage their industry knowledge, network, and business development skills to enable new collaborations and deepen existing collaborations across the CME ecosystem.