More Boards Reporting on Certification Maintenance

Abstract

Eleven new medical boards have begun publicly reporting whether physicians are up to date on their maintenance of certification requirements. The trend toward disclosing maintenance of certification (MOC) status started in August 2011 when seven medical specialty boards, including the American Board of Family Medicine, began making the information publicly available at www.certificationmatters.org – the consumer-focused website of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). Now only six ABMS member boards do not publicly post the MOC status of their diplomates. That list includes the American Board of Internal Medicine. However, all ABMS member boards are expected to publicly report MOC status by early 2014, according to Dr. Lois Nora, ABMS president and CEO. The move to make MOC information readily available to the public is an important part of medical professionalism, Dr. Nora said in an interview. “We have a covenant with the public that we will act in their best interest.” Since the launch of the certificationmatters.org site in February 2011, more than 1.1 million people have visited the site, according to ABMS. The site allows individuals to search for board certification and MOC status by physician name, location, or specialty. If the physician's certifying board is one of the 18 that publicly discloses its members' MOC status, consumers will also see “Yes,” “No,” or “Not Required” displayed next to a doctor's MOC status. The “Not Required” response relates to physicians who have a lifetime certification. The 18 boards now reporting MOC: ▸American Board of Allergy and Immunology▸American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery▸American Board of Dermatology▸American Board of Emergency Medicine▸American Board of Family Medicine▸American Board of Medical Genetics▸American Board of Neurological Surgery▸American Board of Nuclear Medicine▸American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology▸American Board of Ophthalmology▸American Board of Otolaryngology▸ American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation▸American Board of Plastic Surgery▸American Board of Preventive Medicine▸American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology▸American Board of Surgery▸American Board of Thoracic Surgery▸American Board of Urology