AOE Compliance Connection – December 2020 Newsletter

Welcome to the December edition of AOE Compliance Connection, AOE’s monthly newsletter. We are hopeful you and your team are enjoying a busy and productive last few weeks of what has been an unprecedented year: 2020! This month’s newsletter features the ACCME’s newly released Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education. We also include reminders for annual reporting requirements for each of the three major boards, along with some information about where to find us next month at the virtual 2021 Alliance Annual Conference in January – we hope to “see” you there!

As we prepare to enter the new year, make sure to visit www.aoeconsulting.com for ongoing information, including our weekly compliance tips.

AOE extends a very heartfelt “Happy Holidays!” to you and yours!

The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) released its approved Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited CE on December 10, 2020. These standards, which replace the ACCME’s previous Standards for Commercial Support (SCS), seek to provide greater clarity for ensuring independence in accredited continuing education (CE).

These new standards seek to maintain the integrity of accredited CE by providing updates to terms and requirements and streamlining requirements into five (5) standards for providers: Standards 1-3 apply to all accredited organizations, Standard 4 applies “only to accredited continuing education receiving financial or in-kind support from ineligible companies”, and Standard 5 applies “only when there is marketing by ineligible companies or nonaccredited education associated with the accredited continuing education.”

AOE’s summary and synopsis of the new Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited CE is now available on our website, and can be read in full here.

This January, AOE will be attending the Virtual Alliance 2021 Annual Conference, from January 12 – 15. We’d love to connect with you! We will also be part of the live and in-person Alliance Connect experience this coming July, in Orlando, FL. We will share more information with you this Spring about how to connect with AOE in Orlando!

For more information about both conferences, click here.

As 2020 draws to a close, it’s time to begin considering Annual Reporting. Depending on the boards with which your organization holds accreditation, here are a few quick guidelines:

ACCME

Annual Reporting is completed via the ACCME’s Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS) and will be due March 31, 2021. To access information regarding PARS, inclusive of the reporting requirements, please click here. To read the ACCME’s requirements for fulfilling annual reporting, click here.

Additionally, learner completion data for CME that Counts for MOC should be submitted (via PARS) by December 31, 2020 with the exception of one board: Learner completion data for CME that Counts for ABP MOC should have been submitted to PARS by December 1, 2020. Board Certified physicians need to complete their MOC activities by the end of 2020.

ANCC

Annual reporting is completed via the ANCC Nursing Activity and Reporting System (NARS) and will be due April 1, 2021. To access ANCC Annual Reporting Requirements, click here.  Additionally, an FAQ page that includes NARS topics can be found here.

ACPE

There is no annual report required for ACPE, as activity data is captured ‘real-time’ via the Provider Web Tool and CPE Monitor.