Bayshore Medical Center Achieves Accreditation With Commendation
At its February 2013 meeting, the TMA Committee on Continuing Education awarded Bayshore Medical Center Accreditation With Commendation, which confers a six-year term of accreditation. Congratulations to Bayshore! TMA has awarded Accreditation With Commendation to 34 percent of the 58 providers reviewed under the 2007 TMA Accreditation Criteria. TMA accredits 62 providers.
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Annual Report Data and Attestation Due March 29
If you have not already done so, please access the Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS) at www.accme.org using your email address and provider identification number to request a password. The system allows up to five users for each provider, and each user will have his or her unique password. Once the contact information is established, begin adding your organization's activity data. The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education's (ACCME's) resources for using PARS are excellent. They include FAQs and the following videos:
Finally, if you need assistance with PARS, please contact Billie Dalrymple in the TMA CME office. Do not contact ACCME, as it will direct you to TMA. Also, if no representative from your organization participated in PARS training, contact the TMA CME office for a consultation.
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Mark Your Calendar for the 2013 Texas CME Conference in Dallas
Planning for the 2013 conference, scheduled for June 19-21, is underway with registration opening in early April. Conference sessions include a continuation of the CME value proposition discussion, evaluation of activities and the overall CME program, strategies for interprofessional education, and tips and tricks for successful accreditation practices.
The conference also offers a CME basics session, mentee/mentor program, exhibits of CME-friendly products and resources, and multiple opportunities for networking. The registration fee is $300, with a $175 special rate for physicians attending Thursday only.
The conference will be held at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel, 400 N. Olive St. The conference room rate $139 single, double, triple, or quad (plus taxes, currently 15 percent). Self-parking is $12 per day with in/out privileges. Internet is $10 per day in guest rooms; complimentary in all contracted meeting rooms.
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Dr. Valdez Elected to ACCME Committee
Adela Valdez, MD, chair of the CME Committee for Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen, was elected to ACCME’s Committee for Review and Recognition (CRR). The CRR oversees ACCME’s recognition of state medical societies as accreditors and makes recommendations to the ACCME board regarding recognition practices.
In addition to her volunteer duty as chair of a local CME committee, Dr. Valdez is a member of TMA’s Committee on Continuing Education. She is the regional assistant dean for education for The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Regional Academic Health Center in Harlingen.
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Final Sunshine Act Rule Exempts CME
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the long-awaited final rule on the Sunshine Act provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The rule details how pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers covered by Medicare, Medicaid, or the Children’s Health Insurance Program will be required to collect data annually on all payments or transfers of value of more than $10 to physicians and teaching hospitals.
Under the final rule, CMS created a new section that stipulates payments or other transfers of value provided as compensation for speaking at a continuing education program are not required to be reported if the following conditions are met:
- The activity meets the requirements of the continuing education accrediting agency, e.g., ACCME;
- The pharmaceutical or device company does not pay the speaker directly; and
- The pharmaceutical or device company does not choose the speaker or give the CME provider a group of speakers to consider for the activity.
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