ACCME Response to Request to Delay Implementation of New Standards
The ACCME appreciates the request by some medical specialty societies to delay the implementation of the Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education. The ACCME’s Board of Directors reviewed and discussed these concerns at its July 2021 Board meeting and decided not to delay implementation beyond the one-year transition. As described in our FAQ, we understand that planning for some larger, more complex activities will pre-date the opportunity to implement changes, and for those activities (planned in 2021 but not implemented until 2022), we would not expect to see compliance with the new requirements. As with any transition in our rules, we are committed to ensuring that all determinations of compliance are fair, consistent, and reasonable. We have provided a significant number of tools and resources to facilitate the transition will continue to offer support. Many providers are well underway with their transition; in addition, the Standards have been adopted by other accrediting bodies in the health professions and they are also moving forward with the transition. We look forward to continuing to work with our community of CE providers to successfully implement the new Standards across the health professions. We encourage providers with questions or concerns to visit our Standards resources webpage or contact us at info@accme.org.