All of us continue to be troubled by the complex situation presented by the changes in re-certification by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) over the past year. We have heard clearly that our members are unhappy, and many are dissatisfied with ACC’s actions to date. Our approach to the issue has been careful and deliberate, perhaps leading to the assumption that the ACC is not adequately addressing the problem.

The current ACC approach is as follows:

• We respect the intelligence of our members in analyzing the best path for continuing education/certification individually and realize that it may not be the same for each of us; we are not wedded to one solution for all.
• An ACC Task Force led by ACC Immediate Past President Patrick T. O’Gara, MD, MACC, is focused on continuing to provide input to ABIM to see if proposed temporary changes become permanent and to see if their processes can further improve to the extent that they are helpful and acceptable to members.
• A second ACC Task Force led by ACC President-Elect Richard A. Chazal, MD, FACC, is aggressively exploring whether an alternative board should/could be developed by ACC for our members. Potential possibilities could include: new board(s); working with already established alternate boards and/or other organizations; working within or without American Board of Medical Specialties’ framework; and other solutions. While working as rapidly as possible, we want to be cautious, realizing the great complexity of the situation.

In the interim, all of us as members have alternatives. These include joining a new board, waiting to see a final ABIM proposal, and waiting to see if an alternate ACC Board is feasible and/or needed. Recent ABIM suspension of Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Part IV/patient modules and expansion of much Continuing Medical Education to MOC II gives some potential breathing room (we are watching to see what actions will be permanent, what will be done with 10-year exams, and how to approach multiple certifications … among other problems).

Our position is to look for the best ways to help our members and their patients in proceeding forward.

Sincerely,

ACC President Kim Allan Williams, Sr., MD, FACC
ACC President-Elect Richard A. Chazal, MD, FACC
ACC Vice President Mary Norine Walsh, MD, FACC
ACC Immediate Past President Patrick T. O’Gara, MD, MACC
ACC Treasurer Robert Guyton, MD, FACC
ACC Board of Governors Chair Robert Shor, MD, FACC
ACC BOG Chair-Elect Matthew Phillips, MD, FACC
ACC Immediate Past BOG Chair Michael Mansour, MD, FACC

Keywords: Cardiology Magazine, ACC Publications

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