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Maintenance of Certification

  • What Do Opioids, MOC, and Lawsuits Have in Common?

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    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?

    Check Out the List of Our Top 10 Most Read Stories  

  • MOC is an expensive, time-consuming process that many physicians believe offers no value to them or their patients.

    TMA opposes mandatory maintenance of certification (MOC) requirements for licensing, health plan contracting, and hospital credentialing because:

    • MOC is too expensive. Testing fees and materials, time away from practice, travel, and lost revenue, may add up to more $10,000 for an individual physician.
    • MOC requires physicians to take too much time away from our patients and our families.
    • MOC lacks sufficient research to document the benefits to patient care — In fact, many physicians say the information studied and tested has little applicability to their day-to-day practice.

    Read the TMA Maintenance of Certification White Paper.

  • Can 34,616 Physicians Be Wrong About MOC?

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    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.

    Apparently, Not Much  

  • Blue Cross Says MOC Not Needed for BlueCompare

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    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.

    TMA Gets Answers on Blue Cross MOC Confusion  

  • What Do You Really Think About MOC?

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    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.”

    The Vision Initiative Wants to Hear From You  

  • What You Need to Know About the Texas MOC Law

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    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).

    MOC Questions Answered Here  

  • Under Attack, MOC Boards Pledge Changes

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    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.

    Will the Changes Be Enough?  

  • Is Your Board Certification Safe?

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    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. 

    Get the Facts  

  • Texas Strikes Back at JAMA MOC Law Slap

    Just because Texas has a new law to protect physicians against mandatory maintenance of certification (MOC) tyranny doesn't mean the battle is over. This is a nationwide contest now between the specialty certifying boards and the physicians they certify. In the newly enacted Texas law, the boards see a trend that they don’t like — and that they want to stop.

    TMA Wasted No Time Responding  

  • Texas Lawmakers Dramatically Scale Back MOC Requirements

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    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.

    Lessening the Grip  

  • Houston Hospital Denies Physicians Voted to Remove MOC

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    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..

    What Really Happened Here?  

  • Maintenance of Certification Bill Signed into Law

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

    How Texas Found Relief  

  • TMA Statement Regarding Maintenance of Certification Bill (MOC)

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    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.

    What MOC Lacks  

  • MOC Revolution

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    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.

    Why TMA Pushed Back  
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    TMA is helping to strengthen your practice by offering advice and creating a climate of medical success across the state. 

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  • What could a TMA membership mean for you, your practice, and your patients?

    Join TMA Now

  • ABIM Reverses Course on MOC Quality Improvement Requirements

    The American Board of Internal Medicine suspended several recent revisions to its maintenance-of-certification quality improvement requirements.

    We Got It Wrong