Maintenance of Certification

Texas’ new opioid prescribing rules, board certification, and lawsuits top the list of popular topics that Texas Medicine Today covered this year. Want to know what else intrigued Texas physicians in 2018?

A few months back, we told you that leaders of the boards that run the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) programs created a commission — the “Vision Initiative” — to develop “a set of recommendations about the future of continuing board certification.” And they wanted to know what physicians think of MOC.

Physicians across the state reacted strongly to a March 5 letter from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCSTX) that implied the state’s largest insurance company is now using maintenance of certification (MOC) to rate physicians. That was not the intent, the company’s president says.

As Texas Medicine Today recently reported, leaders of the boards that run the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) programs have created a commission – the “Vision Initiative” – to develop “a set of recommendations about the future of continuing board certification.”

TMA's new white paper answers many questions on a tough new law that protects physicians from being forced to undergo maintenance of certification (MOC).

Facing a revolt among their diplomates – a revolt supported by TMA and state medical societies across the country – the boards that run maintenance of certification (MOC) programs have run up a white flag.

It was supposed to be a benign medical board order caused by some minor missteps. Instead, without warning or a chance to argue his case, a Texas subspecialist in an underserved area lost his board certification.
Sound like an anomalous nightmare? It might be — but it also could be that your certifying board has more discretion than you realize to review or even revoke your certification based on the slightest disciplinary action. 

The Texas Legislature took a giant step toward lifting the burden of maintenance of certification (MOC) requirements on most Texas physicians by approving Senate Bill 1148. The new law will prevent the TMB from using MOC as a requirement for doctors to obtain or renew a medical license. SB 1148 also bars hospitals and health plans from requiring physicians to obtain MOC for credentialing or contracts, though there will be some exceptions.

A new law to stop Maintenance of Certification (MOC) oppression against Texas physicians hasn't even taken effect yet, but a Houston hospital is already pushing back against physicians who want to avail themselves of the protections in the TMA-backed measure..

Hear TMA Advocacy Vice President Darren Whitehurst detail the maintenance of certification bill (MOC) that Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law.

Statements by Carlos J. Cardenas, MD, past president of the Texas Medical Association (TMA), and Ray Callas, MD, a member of TMA’s Board of Trustees, in reaction to Gov. Greg Abbott having signed Senate Bill 1148 into law on Thursday, June 15. SB 1148 pertains to maintenance of certification requirements for physicians.

MOC has long riled the nation's physicians over what doctors say are costly, burdensome, and frivolous programs. Many physicians also question the financial motives of the certifying boards and debate the impact of MOC on patient outcomes.