ACC members likely received a message from the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) this week announcing new options for some ABIM diplomates taking their Maintenance of Certification (MOC) assessments in 2018. The options being piloted in 2018 are for certified internists and certified nephrologists only. If you are a cardiologist who does not wish to maintain certification in internal medicine, these new options do not apply to you.

For certified cardiologists and sub-specialist cardiologists in Advanced Heart Failure & Transplant Cardiology, Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology, Interventional Cardiology, and Adult Congenital Heart Disease, the open-book assessments (either every 10 years for the “long-form” assessment or every two years for the “Knowledge Check-in” assessment) are not available in 2018. They will be phased in per the following schedule:

• 2019: Cardiovascular Disease
• 2020: Advanced Heart Failure & Transplant Cardiology; Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology; Interventional Cardiology
• 2023: Adult Congenital Heart Disease

According to the ABIM, those cardiovascular specialists and subspecialists who elect to remain certified by the ABIM will need to take the traditional 10-year (closed-book) examination if their Part III assessment years occur prior to the years noted above."

On a separate track, the ACC (as well as the American College of Physicians and the American Society of Clinical Oncologists) continues to work with the ABIM in an effort to create an additional pathway for cardiologists, internists and oncologists to maintain their certification. This pathway, known by its working title as the “Society Maintenance Pathway” (SMP), is still in an early design phase. It will utilize lifelong learning self-assessment programs (e.g., ACCSAP) to document that diplomates have kept up with their medical knowledge over a specified period of time. The date of introduction of the SMP for cardiologists and cardiology subspecialists has not yet been determined, but SMP development is a high priority for ACC leadership and the Education Division of the College. We await response from the ABIM on our current proposal. More information will be provided as it becomes available.

Visit ACC’s MOC hub for more updates and information. 

Keywords: Cardiovascular Diseases, Certification, Electrophysiology, Heart Diseases, Heart Failure, Internal Medicine, Self-Assessment, Self-Evaluation Programs

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