The ACC’s Board of Governors and Board of Trustees heard from Richard Baron, MD, MACP, president and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) as part of a joint Town Hall leading up to ACC.14.

With new ABIM Maintenance of Certification (MOC) requirements in effect this year, this was an important opportunity to hear more about the new changes, as well as gain a greater understanding of the ABIM’s history and role moving into the future as the representing voice for internal medicine.

The ABIM was created in 1936 by the ACP and the AMA with the goal of publically differentiating members who met a peer standard from other physicians wh could not (or chose not)  to meet the standard. Cardiology was the first subspecialty to be approved in 1940 by the ABIM.

Baron noted that the recent changes are the result of the changing health care environment. He highlighted a statement by Brend James, MD, that says a typical clinician needs to learn, unlearn, then relearn half of their medical knowledge base five times during a typical year. An exam every 10 years is not enough.

Looking ahead, Baron said the ABIM is changing its governance to include the development of specialty boards that would support society relations, training, exam and MOC II and IV. The cardiology board, which is currently being developed, will be a two-tiered distributed board with a stronger more uified voice.

The spirited discussion following Dr. Baron's address allowed for ACC leaders to express their concerns -- and those of their colleagues and state chapter members -- about the new changes. It is clear there are very real issues associated with meeting the changes and this meeting provided a much-need opportunity for ABIM to hear directly about suggestions for improvement.

These discussions will only continue. As part of the College's three-pronged MOC strategy, the College is committed to taking member concerns directly to ABIM and advocating for improvements. You can learn more about the College's strategy, which also includes education materials on the new changes, as well as tools for meeting the requirements, at CardioSource.org/MOC. Stay tuned to the ACC in Touch Blog tomorrow for a guest post from Dr. Baron as well.

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