New Report: Engaging Patients in CME, New ACCME Podcast: Coffee with Graham, Registration for the ACCME 2020 Annual Meeting Opens November 12
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News
LEARNING TOGETHER REPORT
We're pleased to release Learning Together: Engaging Patients as Partners in Accredited Continuing Medical Education — Report from the ACCME 2019 Meeting.
Learning Together offers educators strategies and tips for engaging patients as partners in planning and teaching CME. The report summarizes the Learning Together track held at the ACCME 2019 Annual Meeting, including strategies for designing patient-centered research, collaborating with patients in CME, and faculty development for patients and educators. Patient-partners participated in the Learning Together track as planners and faculty, and their perspective is woven throughout the report.
Highlights from Learning Together include:
- Reflections from a patient-partner
- Tips for engaging patients in CME
- Tips for developing a patient inclusion action plan
- Case study: building a patient family-partner CE planning committee
- Patient-partner readiness checklist
- Seven key recommendations
Through their participation, patients can increase the meaning, relevance, and effectiveness of CME and contribute to improving care for patients and communities. Together we can create a CME community that not only aims to support clinicians in delivering optimal healthcare for all – but strives toward that goal with patients as partners.
Read the full news release. Download the report. Visit our new Patient Engagement Resources webpage.
UPDATE: REVIEW OF THE STANDARDS FOR PROTECTING THE INDEPENDENCE AND INTEGRITY OF ACCREDITED CE
We wanted to give you an update on the process of reviewing the rules that protect the independence and integrity of accredited continuing education (CE) for healthcare professionals. The Task Force on Protecting the Integrity of Accredited CE and the executive leadership of ACCME have been reviewing the comments received during the call for feedback, focus groups, and other discussions. The Task Force’s report and recommendations will be considered by the ACCME Board of Directors at its December meeting. We anticipate opening a call for comment about the updated Standards early next year. Usually, we give 30-45 days to respond to a call for comment. We thank all of you who have participated in our dialogue so far, and look forward to your responses during our call for comment. Watch for updates in our newsletter and on our website.
For background information and to download summary and responses of the call for feedback we conducted earlier this year, visit: Call for Feedback Responses: Protecting the Independence and Integrity of Accredited CE.
NEW PARS OPTIONS
In response to suggestions and questions from accredited CME providers, we have added three new optional fields for contact information in the ACCME Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS). These new fields are optional — as before, the only required contact person you need to designate is your organization’s primary contact.
New Optional Contact Types
- ACCME Website Contact: Use this field to identify the person who serves in a customer service capacity to address inquiries and triage questions from external users and physicians. This person will be published as your organization’s contact in the Find a CME Provider section on the ACCME’s website. If you do not designate a person in this role, we will publish your organization’s Primary Contact on the ACCME’s website. We will update the provider listings in January to reflect any changes you may have made.
- Technical Contact: Use this field to identify the person who is responsible for information systems and technical updates related to your work in PARS.
- Medical Director: Use this field to identify the person who serves in a medical leadership capacity and oversees strategic operations at your organization. The ACCME may reach out to this contact to discuss strategic initiatives related to CME and healthcare leadership.
As a reminder, here is information about the contact fields that previously existed in PARS.
- Primary Contact (Required): This person receives all official ACCME communications and is our first point of contact for any questions or issues related to your organization’s accreditation. Each organization is required to designate one person as the primary contact.
- Billing Contact (Optional): This person receives ACCME invoices and other payment-related information. If you do not designate a billing contact, we will send invoices to the primary contact.
- CEO Contact (Optional): This person serves in an executive leadership role and is ultimately responsible for the organization's accredited CME program.
- Staff (Optional): Use this field to enter anyone who you want to have access to your organization’s records in PARS. This is typically an employee of the accredited CME provider.
If you have questions or would like more information, please contact us at info@accme.org. For more information about PARS, visit our PARS Resources webpage.
Connect with Us
COFFEE WITH GRAHAM
We’re excited to announce a new monthly podcast series with ACCME President and CEO, Graham McMahon, MD, MMSc, where he discusses topics that affect clinicians, educators, and healthcare thought leaders in CME today. Our first episode, available now, discusses including patients as partners in CME.
Upcoming episodes chronicle physician burnout, combating overconfidence in the workplace, and the changing role of CME. Follow us @AccreditedCME or check the Coffee with Graham webpage to catch each episode as it’s released.
Listen to the full podcast at www.accme.org/coffee-with-graham.
Upcoming Educational Opportunities
REGISTRATION FOR THE ACCME 2020 MEETING OPENS SOON
We invite you to save the date for the ACCME 2020 Meeting: May 6-8, 2020 at the Hilton Chicago. Registration for the ACCME 2020 Meeting will open on November 12 at accmemeeting.org.
We’re excited to announce the theme for the ACCME 2020 Meeting will be Driving Change: Map Your Route to Educational Leadership. Get ready to discover strategies that will optimize your role in supporting the community of clinicians and patients we all serve. The ACCME 2020 Meeting has continued to evolve based on your leadership and feedback. This year we will provide exciting opportunities to:
- Share and exchange insights from your CME Stories
- Engage with patients to help inform CME planning
- Receive mentorship and training in CME research
- Engage with local and federal health agencies
- Participate in active learning with peers
Check out a preview of the meeting agenda here.
CME FOR MOC ASK YOUR QUESTIONS WEBINARS
Our next Advanced CME for MOC: Ask Your Questions Webinar will be held November 19, at 2:00 pm–3:00 pm (CT). This interactive webinar is for CME providers who have already planned and offered CME for Maintenance of Certification (MOC).
Collaboration and Engagement
NEW REPORT FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF MEDICINE
The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) released its new report, “Taking Action Against Clinician Burnout: A Systems Approach to Professional Well-Being.” This report lists the causes and consequences of burnout, a systems approach to professional well-being, and key factors to taking action.
AMERICAN BOARD OF MEDICAL SPECIALTIES – FOCUS PROFESSIONALISM
In September, the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Professionalism Task Force participated in the “ABMS-NBME Symposium on Professionalism: Advancing Assessment of Professionalism in Continuing Certification.”
THE AMERICAN BOARD OF ANESTHESIOLOGY INNOVATION SUMMIT
In April 2019, the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) convened an Innovation Summit. The goal of the summit was to improve public health and enhance patient outcomes by ensuring that anesthesiologists were keeping their medical knowledge up to date.
Tips and Tools
PROMOTE THE VALUE OF CME: USE THE ACCME ACCREDITED MARK IN YOUR ACCREDITATION STATEMENT
We encourage CME providers to communicate the value of accreditation to your learners by including the ACCME Accredited or Accreditation with Commendation mark in your accreditation statement, as well as in educational materials and other communications. To learn more, read our Publicizing ACCME Accreditation Policy.
CME for MOC Updates
HELP YOUR ABIM CERTIFIED PHYSICIANS MEET THEIR FIVE-YEAR MOC POINT REQUIREMENTS
American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Board Certified physicians need to earn 100 Maintenance of Certification (MOC) points every five years to remain certified. This means many of your learners will need to earn points by December 31, 2019 to avoid a change in their certification status. Encouraging your learners to claim MOC points as they go ensures the activities they do now will count later and helps avoid last-minute, end-of-year rushes. You can find tips for assisting your learners here.
UPCOMING DEADLINE
- Please report your 2019 CME that counts for ABIM MOC learner completion data in PARS by December 31.
- We encourage you to submit learner data as soon as possible after the activity is completed, so that ABIM can apply the MOC points to physicians' records. This will help manage your learners’ expectations for reporting points, especially for activities that take place late in the year.
For more information, read our blog post or visit CME that counts for ABIM MOC and CME in Support of MOC.
Questions? Contact us at info@accme.org.
Reminders for Accredited Providers
ACCME IMPLEMENTS NEW, TIERED STRUCTURE FOR ANNUAL ACCREDITATION FEE
Beginning in 2020 the ACCME is implementing a new, tiered structure for the annual accreditation fee paid by ACCME-accredited providers. In June, we sent information to the primary contact for each ACCME-accredited provider explaining the new structure and the amounts due for the 2020 and 2021 annual accreditation fees. This week, we sent invoices to ACCME-accredited providers. Payment of the 2020 annual accreditation fee is due January 31, 2020.
If your organization is accredited by the ACCME and did not receive this information, please contact info@accme.org. More information is available here.
Providers accredited by a state medical society should contact their accreditor. The fee schedule is posted here.