News

DATA MANAGEMENT UPDATE

Progress continues in the evolution of ACCME’s digital hub for CME credit data. The vision – a system where CME providers can keep learner records, licensing and certifying boards can verify compliance, and physicians can find learning opportunities and access transcripts – is closer than ever to coming to fruition. 

The ACCME has received significant input from accredited providers via the Call for Comment on Digital Data Management in Accredited Continuing Education, from state licensing boards, and from key stakeholders during the Learn to Thrive 2023 conference, all of which is helping inform and lead our data strategy. We are grateful for your input. See below for information about recent developments and plans for next steps.

State Licensing Board Participation

On May 4, ACCME and the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) announced a joint initiative providing all state medical licensing boards access to CME credit data for their licensed physicians. This means that while 11 state licensing boards have been formally participating in a collaboration with ACCME to use PARS during re-licensure audits, all boards now have the ability to do so.

Simplifying Data Input and Uploading

ACCME understands the administrative burden associated with beginning to report learner credit data and is working on several strategies to ease that burden. One such strategy is a plan for reported MOC credits to automatically count also for CME credits, removing the burden of reporting such credits twice. A second strategy to streamline reporting is the ability to report credit just once for physicians licensed in multiple states. Additional data infrastructure improvements are in progress.

Reporting Learner Credits: Get Started

If you are wondering how to get started, perhaps take your list of learners with the information you have (MM/DD of their birthdate, state of license, and license ID), and check the list against our validation tool in ACCME’s Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS). This will help you know if we can make a match in our system, reduce rejections, and streamline the reporting process after a CME activity. Look for the “Learner Validation Tool” under Learners in PARS to submit manually, via batch upload, or web services. If you have questions or need assistance, email info@accme.org and we can walk you through the process.

Data Management Strategy

ACCME convened key stakeholders during the Learn to Thrive 2023 conference earlier this month for guidance in developing a data management strategy. Conversations from this data summit, along with input from the Call for Comment on Digital Data Management (see summary below), will inform the deliberations of the ACCME Board of Directors this July.

Call for Comment Executive Summary

On February 22, 2023, the Accredited Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) opened a call for comment on digital data management in accredited continuing education. The ACCME has been working to simplify the management of CME credits and sought comments from accredited providers on the best next steps to support that evolution and maximize participation from all providers in the digital ecosystem. Responses were accepted through April 7, 2023. There were 153 respondents to the online survey; in addition, we received responses via email. The Executive Summary includes a representative sampling of comments in support of the initiatives, common concerns about the initiative, and responses to the survey questions, in addition to tables illustrating respondent demographics and common themes to the open-ended questions posed in the survey.

For more information, read the full Call for Comment Executive Summary.

GROWING TOGETHER AT LEARN TO THRIVE 2023

Earlier this month, we were thrilled to welcome more than 600 participants to Chicago for Learn to Thrive 2023, ACCME’s annual meeting. Your engagement, research, collaboration, and passion for education helped make our meeting a success. We sincerely thank our meeting participants, faculty, volunteers, and staff for your contributions—without you this meeting would not have been possible. We hope you continue to implement key learnings in your work and feel as inspired as we do by the strength and innovation of the CE community.

We’d like to congratulate the winner of the 2023 Research and Scholarship Award, Novel Competence Assessment Yields Greater Potential to Effect Change in Healthcare, by Michael Beyer, Heather Drew, Cyndi Grimes of PeerView Institute for Medical Education, a jointly accredited provider. Congratulations on your achievement!

Check out the graphic below to learn more about last week’s meeting.

JOIN THE WORKING GROUP KICKOFF WEBINAR ON JUNE 14

Join the Working Group Kickoff Webinar on June 14 from 1:00 – 2:30 pm CT to learn about the four Working Groups being hosted in 2023.

What is a Working Group? Originating from Learn to Thrive 2023, working groups are a longitudinal learning opportunity that facilitate the collaboration of continuing education (CE) professionals in the production of a resource for the accredited education community. The four 2023 working groups will be meeting virtually each month between July and October.

The 2023 working groups are open to the wider CE community, regardless of participation in Learn to Thrive 2023. During the kickoff webinar, working group leadership teams will share the key issue each group is tackling along with the intended outcome of the group. Webinar participants will be encouraged to ask questions and given the opportunity to sign up to participate in a working group. Check out the timeline below, and learn more and register here.

NEW ACCREDITATION DECISIONS

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

We would also like to welcome the following organizations that achieved Accreditation with Commendation from the March 2023 cohort:

Congratulations on your achievement!

Education & Resources

ACCREDITATION MYTH OF THE MONTH 

To support your successful implementation of the Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education, we’re debunking common myths around accreditation and sharing ways to efficiently plan your CE activities.

Myth: The ACCME requires that learners complete an evaluation form following every activity.

Reality: There are many ways in which an accredited CME provider can evaluate changes in learners or patient outcomes, which do not include the explicit completion of a written evaluation or survey. One option is to facilitate short discussions during the education that are moderated by a facilitator who reports back new strategies discussed by the learners. Another strategy is to ask learners to share a reflective statement verbally, via e-mail, or via a text to the facilitator. Learn more here. 

“Prior to asking a learner to populate an evaluation, take a moment to ask yourself: ‘Why am I asking these questions? Is it possible to get these results in a more efficient way?’” –Kurt Snyder

Looking for more information? Explore our standards resources webpage, frequently asked questions, and tips for simplifying CE planning.

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS FOR THE NATIONAL INITIATIVE IX: ADDRESSING SOCIAL AND MORAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH

The Alliance of Independent Academic Medical Centers (AIAMC) is now accepting applications for participation in their National Initiative (NI) IX: Addressing the Social and Moral Determinants of Health. Completed applications are due no later than Friday, June 2, and must be emailed in Word format. Prior to submitting an application, check out the Call for Applications. All applicants will be notified of selection in late June, followed by pre-work this summer and a first meeting in October.

Careers

The ACCME has two open positions: 

• Marketing Communications Manager: The Marketing Communications Manager is responsible for developing and executing marketing/communications plans to ensure the successful growth of ACCME’s digital Continuing Medical Education (CME) data hub, to promote the value of accredited continuing education for health professionals, to grow the community of accredited providers, and to build engagement with the accredited continuing education community, clinicians, healthcare leaders, and other stakeholders.
• Full stack .Net Developer (React, Azure DevOps, SQL Server): This role will work closely with the Data Services team to design, develop and implement features for ACCME’s critical, custom applications: the Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS) and CME Passport.