Regularly Scheduled Series
Regularly scheduled series (RSS) is a live activity planned as a series with multiple, ongoing sessions, e.g., offered weekly, monthly, or quarterly. A RSS is primarily planned by and presented to the accredited organization’s professional staff and generally targets the same audience over the whole series. If an RSS is presented live and recorded for the same audience who might happen to miss one or more sessions, then it would still be reported as one RSS and those learners would be part of the aggregate count of learners. Examples include grand rounds, tumor boards, and morbidity and mortality conferences.
If, however, the RSS is recorded and intended for a different, broader audience, then it should be reported as two separate activities – one RSS and one enduring material. The recorded sessions could be offered as a single enduring material or multiple enduring materials as determined by the provider.
When reporting RSS activities in PARS, each series should be reported as one activity. Each series should be reported for a maximum of a 12-month period. If this activity is available for longer than 12 months, it should be reported as a separate activity each year in which it is available. In addition, the following guidelines should be used: The number of credits listed for the activity should be for the entire series, not the credit amount per session.
Each physician or other learner is counted as a learner for every session they attend in the series.
For example: Internal Medicine Grand Rounds is planned as a 12-month activity from July 1 to June 30 each year. This activity meets for one hour each week. The start date should be entered as 07/01/XXXX and the end date should be entered as 06/30/XXXX. In PARS, the series should be entered as one activity with 52 credits. If 20 physicians participated in each session, total physician learners would be 1,040 (20 learners/session x 52 sessions) for that single activity.
The number of credits listed for the activity should be for the entire series, not the credit amount per session.
Please note, live activities where the same content is offered multiple times for different audiences should be reported as separate live courses and not RSS. PARS allows the provider to indicate in PARS if a live course is repeated.
