News

REGISTER FOR LEARN TO THRIVE 2023

Registration is now open for Learn to Thrive 2023, ACCME’s annual meeting, on May 16-18 at the Sheraton Grand Chicago! We’ve designed this meeting with your professional development needs in mind—including new opportunities to level up and discover actionable strategies that will optimize your role in helping clinicians deliver quality patient care.

Throughout this three-day meeting, you’ll join stakeholders from across the healthcare education continuum to learn from the rich diversity of educational and collaborative approaches that are improving healthcare each day.  Hear from Deema Al-Sheikhly, MRes, MEHP, on why she makes the 15-hour flight from Qatar to Chicago each year for the ACCME’s annual meeting.

Don’t miss discounted early bird rates for Learn to Thrive 2023. Register before February 10 and save $200!

EXPLORE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON LEARNER CREDIT DATA 

Looking for quick answers to your questions on entering learner credit data in ACCME’s Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS)? Be sure to check out our updated frequently asked questions webpage, featuring information on the value of entering learner credit data in PARS, how it can help alleviate reporting burdens for your physician learners, and ways to support regulatory authorities by providing easier access to verified CME and Maintenance of Certification/Continuous Certification (MOC/CC) credit data. 

Thank you to the accredited providers who are prospectively reporting their activities, electing to display these activities in CME Passport, and reporting learner credit data in PARS. We are continuously working to make data reporting requirements not only easier but more worthwhile for you and your learners.

To that end, we are modifying the functionality in PARS that will allow you to report CME credit data for physicians licensed in multiple states. We are working to adjust the reporting process so that when you report credit for a physician, you can simply list just one of the physician’s licensing states, and PARS will extend that credit to all the states in which that physician is licensed. You will no longer have to report credit for each state individually. By working together in this way, we aim to ease administrative burdens for all.

Questions? We’re happy to help. Contact info@accme.org.

CELEBRATING PROVISIONAL ACCREDITATION AND ACCREDITATION WITH COMMENDATION ACHIEVED IN 2022 

Please join us in welcoming the following organizations that received provisional accreditation in 2022, joining our growing community of accredited CME providers: 

We are delighted to acknowledge the following organizations that achieved Accreditation with Commendation in 2022:

Congratulations on your achievement!  

“The Brody School of Medicine Continuing Medical Education program is proud to achieve ACCME’s Accreditation with Commendation, reinforcing our commitment to advancing the quality of healthcare, improving patient outcomes and improving quality of life, with a focus on the people of Eastern North Carolina.” –Mildred Carraway, MSN, RN, Director, Continuing Medical, Dental and Pharmacy Education, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University

CHANGE IN AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION CREDIT CALCULATION FOR ORIGINAL PRESENTATIONS 

The American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates adopted a new policy to allow physicians to claim an amount of AMA Physician’s Recognition Award (PRA) Category 1 Credit™ that more accurately reflects the learning associated with preparing and presenting an original presentation at a live AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ activity. While the credit reflects the learning involved in the preparation, the amount of credit is based on presentation time. Physician presenters may now claim up to four credits per each hour of presentation time at eligible activities taking place on or after January 1, 2023. This change is only for faculty at the CME provider’s live activities. Credit calculation for participants, and for other types of faculty credit, has not changed. Please contact mary.kelly@ama-assn.org at the AMA with questions.

ACCME Academy Spotlight

EXPLORE NEW COURSE IN THE EFFECTIVE TEACHING TOOLKIT CURRICULUM 

We are pleased to offer a new addition to the Effective Teaching Toolkit Curriculum in ACCME Academy, “Mastery Learning for Continuing Education”, which introduces learners to the mastery learning approach for health professionals’ education.

• After completing the course, learners will be able to: 
• Describe key differences between mastery learning and traditional, time-based education models. 
• Describe the role of assessment and feedback in facilitating learner mastery. 
• Identify pedagogical and curriculum design strategies for a mastery learning approach. 
• Design a mastery learning-based educational activity.   

Access to the course is free for accredited CME providers with an ACCME Academy user account. Simply click this link and log in to your ACCME Academy account.

Collaboration & Engagement 

IDAHO BOARD OF MEDICINE JOINS ACCME AND STATE MEDICAL BOARDS COLLABORATION 

We’re pleased to share that the Idaho Board of Medicine has joined the ACCME and State Medical Licensing Boards Collaboration, a collaboration that also includes the boards in Alabama, California, Maine, Maryland, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, the Virgin Islands, and Washington. This initiative aims to reduce reporting burdens for physicians and simplify the auditing process for licensing boards. Learn more here.

LIVE WEBINAR DISCUSSING RACISM IN HEALTHCARE 

We invite the accredited education community to attend the inaugural event of the National Health Equity Grand Rounds series, History of Racism in US Health Care: Root Causes of Today’s Hierarchy and Systems of Power, live-streaming on February 7 from 2:00 – 3:30 PM ET.

Learn about the root causes of current structural inequities and past unethical medical experimentation and explore how healthcare professionals can work together to understand and redress past harms to create a more equitable healthcare system. The National Health Equity Grand Rounds series is developed by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, American Medical Association, National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education, and RespectAbility.

CONTINUING EDUCATION REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS FOR OPIOID ANALGESIC REMS 

The grant application process is now open for continuing education (CE) activities that are compliant with the Opioid Analgesic Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (OA REMS). The 2023 CE Request for Application (RFA) is available here. Submissions are due by March 9, 2023 (11:59 pm ET). The goal of the grants is to support high-quality REMS-compliant accredited continuing education for prescribers and other healthcare professionals on the treatment and monitoring of patients with pain. To be eligible, the continuing education must be based solely on the Opioid Analgesics REMS Education Blueprint for Health Care Providers Involved in the Treatment and Monitoring of Patients with Pain that was approved by the US FDA in September 2018. For more information about CME for OA REMS, visit our webpage here.

Reminders for Accredited Providers 

ANNUAL FEES DUE BY JANUARY 31 

Thank you to the providers who have already submitted payment for their 2023 annual accreditation fees. In November, 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 Tuesday, January 31, 2023. The fee schedule is posted here.

COMPLETE YOUR ANNUAL REPORTING IN PARS BY MARCH 31 

To fulfill your annual reporting requirement, you must enter data for your 2022 activities, complete your program summary, and accept the annual agreement in ACCME’s Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS). The deadline for completing your annual reporting requirements is March 31, 2023, but we encourage you to complete your data entry as soon as possible.

Join us for our live webinars on February 22 and March 21 to answer your questions about annual reporting. For more information and links to educational resources, please visit the Using PARS webpage.

Questions? We're happy to help. Please contact us at info@accme.org.

Connect with Us 

NEW COFFEE WITH GRAHAM EPISODE 

We’re excited to kick off 2023 with our revamped Coffee with Graham podcast. In this episode, ACCME’s President and CEO, Graham McMahon, MD, MMSc, discusses how accredited CME can support physicians and improve patient care as healthcare delivery becomes increasingly digitized. Listen here.

Career Opportunities 

The ACCME has one open position: 

• Application Support Analyst – Hybrid: The Application Support Analyst identifies and analyzes user requirements, recommends appropriate applications or modifications, and provides support for all applications and systems identified within the team’s portfolio.