There is controversy surrounding the new maintenance of certification (MOC) requirements for continued board certification. Many physicians believe recent changes by the American Board of Medical Specialties requiring physicians engage in various medical knowledge, practice-assessment, and patient-safety activities as well as recertification exams do not provide optimal use of physician’s time. Furthermore, no high quality data exist to justify these labor intensive and expensive activities. A petition to change the requirements now has >22,000 signatures but ABIM has not made meaningful changes to the 2014 MOC requirements. Many have asked about a “next step” and asked for an alternative.
An alternative now exists. The National Board of Physicians and Surgeons (NBPAS.org), an alternative Board providing continuing board certification. (See board members below). The major difference is replacing onerous computer modules and repeated exams with ACCME accredited Continuing Medical Education. It will be up to physicians the NBPAS to petition our hospitals and payers to accept this alternative, more reasonable, board certification.
The NBPAS fee is $169 for two year certification (i.e. $84.50 per year), irrespective of the number of specialty applications. This one fee covers two years and all your specialties. The fee will be adjusted up or down in future years, determined by expenses. Physicians in or within 2 years of training qualify for a reduced rate of $29 for a two year certification ($14.50/year). The application requires less than 15 minutes to complete.
To demonstrate our commitment, it would be helpful for all who support this endeavor to apply for certification.
Go to NBPAS.org to view the website, apply for certification, and leave comments.
This presentation will detail the problems with MOC and provide suggestions for local activism.
