Based on continued feedback from the internal medicine community, including physicians and societies like the ACC, the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) has announced the following updates to its Maintenance of Certification (MOC) requirements:

1. ABIM will continue to suspend its MOC Part IV requirement beyond Dec. 31, 2018. Moving forward, no "internist will have his or her certification status changed for not having completed activities in Practice Assessment, Patient Voice or Patient Safety." The goal: to allow physicians flexibility in earning MOC points from activities that "are most meaningful to their practice, including those that enhance and improve medical knowledge, as well as many existing quality improvement activities, and those that blend both." While physicians still need to complete at least one MOC activity every two years and earn 100 MOC points every five years, ABIM is now allowing more flexibility in how MOC points can be earned. Physicians still must earn 20 points in Medical Knowledge, but the remainder can be earned by completing ANY type of approved MOC activities they choose, including MOC Part IV activities and joint MOC and CME offerings.

*As a reminder, the College's MOC offerings are free for its members. Joint MOC/CME credit is now offered at most ACC live meetings, including the Annual Scientific Session. Additionally, members can earn more than enough credit from JACC Journals alone to meet ABIM MOC requirements for each five-year period, as well as CME requirements in most states for medical licensure renewal. The College is also approved as a Portfolio Program sponsor through the Multi-Specialty Portfolio Approval Program, which means it can deliver more meaningful and relevant quality and process improvement experiences and award Part IV credit for ABMS MOC to members with dual board certifications.
2. In 2018, physicians in Internal Medicine or Nephrology have the option of taking ABIM's new two-year "Knowledge Check-in" as an alternative to the traditional 10-year exam. Those choosing this option are also able to retake the Knowledge Check-in within two years should they fail to pass on the first try – also called the "no consequence" policy. ABIM is now extending this policy to include all other Internal Medicine subspecialties as they are phased in based on the following schedule:
• 2019: Cardiovascular Disease
• 2020: Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology; Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology; Interventional Cardiology
• 2023: Adult Congenital Heart Disease

*As a reminder, physicians whose certifications will expire before the new Knowledge Check-in option is available in their subspecialty will need to take the 10-year exam to maintain their certification. Additionally, the ACC, American College of Physicians and American Society of Clinical Oncology have committed to working with ABIM to begin exploring development of collaborative pathways through which physicians can maintain board certification. The work is in its early stages, but if successful would allow the ACC, Heart Failure Society of America, Heart Rhythm Society and Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions to enhance the existing ACC Self-Assessment Program (ACCSAP) product line with CathSAP, EPSAP and Heart Failure SAP products and help fulfill the MOC needs of interventionalists, electrophysiologists and heart failure specialists.

More information on these changes is available on the ABIM website. Additional information on ACC MOC activities can be found at ACC.org/MOC.

Keywords: Licensure, Medical, Quality Improvement, Nephrology, Patient Safety, Specialization, Self-Assessment, Goals, Certification, Self-Evaluation Programs, Physicians, Awards and Prizes, Heart Failure, Cardiovascular Diseases, Angiography, Medical Oncology, Electrophysiology, Heart Diseases

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