REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON CONTINUING EDUCATION
CM-CE Report 1-A-07
Subject: CME Program Report
Presented by: Leslie H. Secrest, MD, Chair
Updated ACCME Accreditation Criteria
The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) announced updates to its Accreditation Criteria on Sept. 5, 2006. The new criteria support accredited CME that is based on patient safety, valid content, and independence from commercial bias. It promotes practice-based, self-directed physician learning as well as learning and change for CME providers. ACCME's new model of accreditation is designed to establish CME programs that will collaborate with other parts of the physician learning continuum to better support physician performance improvement, maintenance of licensure requirements, and physicians' specialty board Maintenance of Certification. The new criteria call for CME providers to document change in physician competence, or physician practice, or patient health status in all CME activities. The first ACCME accreditation decisions under this new model will be made in November 2008 with all providers having been surveyed using the updated criteria by 2012.
TMA, as a provider of continuing medical education, will be reviewed by ACCME under the updated criteria in 2010. Plans are in place to revise the CME mission statement in 2007 to reflect specific expected results of the CME program that support TMA's 2010 goals. The next step is to develop processes to evaluate all activities in terms of change in competence or change in physician practice.
Committee Adopts Updated ACCME Accreditation Criteria for Intrastate Accreditation Program
In preparation for implementing the updated criteria into TMA's intrastate accreditation program, George Zenner, MD, chair, Subcommittee on Accreditation, attended the ACCME State Medical Society Conference in Chicago on Dec. 6-7, 2006. Representatives of 38 state and regional accrediting bodies gathered to share ideas for implementing the Updated Accreditation Criteria. State accrediting bodies must adopt the ACCME accreditation standards at a minimum with additional criteria or policies added at the discretion of the state medical society. The majority of state medical societies will offer an accreditation program very similar to ACCME's national program. Some societies value the addition of required physician participation in the oversight of local CME programs and will most likely add policy or criteria to accommodate physician oversight.
TMA, as the accrediting body for Texas organizations, adopted the new criteria as the basis for its accreditation program on Sept. 29, 2006. The subcommittee, at its meeting on Feb. 2, 2007, adopted a recommendation to include the following requirements, which are over and above those of ACCME, in its accreditation system: (1) approval of the mission statement by the organization's governing body; (2) communication of activity objectives to speakers as well as learners; and (3) documentation of a CME unit including dedicated staff and a CME committee representative of the target audience of the program. The committee concurs with the recommendation and will review and approve the final accreditation system document in June 2007.
The committee will begin making accreditation decisions with the new criteria in February 2009. The subcommittee established a plan and timeline to implement the new criteria within TMA's operating procedures and supporting documents and to assist TMA's accredited providers to incorporate the updated criteria into their CME programs.
Update on Providers and Surveyors in TMA's Intrastate Accreditation Program
Since the committee's report to the House of Delegates in May 2006, 18 organizations have submitted applications or self studies for CME accreditation by TMA. Fourteen were granted full accreditation (four of these earned six years accreditation with commendation) and four earned initial provisional accreditation. TMA's Subcommittee on Accreditation, a team of 17 physicians and CME professionals, conducted the onsite surveys and submitted reports to the committee for consideration and accreditation decisions.
TMA's current roster of CME-accredited organizations includes 67 organizations. The breakdown for type of organization is as follows: 54 hospitals or hospital systems, 3 physician groups, 2 state specialty societies, 2 state agencies, 1 regional health education center, 1 medical education foundation, 1 university student health center, 1 quality improvement organization, 1 education training company, and 1 home health agency.
Melanie Oblender, MD, Lubbock, (1998-2006) and Peter Sanfelippo, MD, Tyler, (2003-2006) completed terms on the subcommittee. The committee thanks them for their time and efforts to assure compliant CME programs across Texas. Three new surveyors have agreed to join the subcommittee: Catherine Ronaghan, MD, Lubbock; Wesley W. Stafford, MD, Corpus Christi; and Jefferson Nelson, MD, Austin.
New Guidelines for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
In January 2006, the American Medical Association outlined changes in the AMA PRA credit system. They include a revised credit designation statement, ability by CME providers to award double AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ to speakers, trademark of AMA credit, ability by CME providers to award AMA PRA Category 1 Credit ™ to international physicians, and new formats for category 1 credit (performance improvement and internet point of care learning). Published for the first time, although not new, was a statement noting that CME providers may designate other appropriately structured activities for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ . For example, committee learning, learning plans/contracts, etc., that are developed in accordance with all the requirements for designated live activities can be eligible for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. The committee has approved content and designated credit for portions of four council or committee meetings. Double credit is now awarded to speakers for all activities.
2007 Texas CME Conference
TMA offers an annual two-day conference for physicians and staff who plan and implement continuing medical education activities. The program provides updates on CME issues, trains CME providers to meet accreditation requirements, and provides networking opportunities for CME providers. The 2007 conference will be on June 6-8 in Fort Worth at the Hilton Fort Worth Hotel.
TMA House of Delegates: TexMed 2007