Welcome to the AOE Compliance Connection, AOE’s monthly newsletter! This resource offers accreditation board bulletins for the ACCME, ACPE, and ANCC, along with regulatory updates, highlights of AOE services, and information on upcoming activities and educational opportunities.
As we enter 2016, our commitment to Navigating Education Excellence with our partners remains central to our mission. Our website is the perfect place to find out more about what we offer! Featuring continually updated resources and information, our site gives users an in-depth look at the CME/CE consulting services AOE offers, including:
- CME/CE Initial Accreditation and Re-Accreditation Consulting
- Outsourced CME/CE Coordination and Accreditation Management
- CME/CE Progress Report Management
- Live Meeting Compliance Support (On-Site, On-Demand℠)
- Customized CME/CE Compliance Trainings
Our site also provides weekly CME/CE compliance tips, news updates, a library of guidelines, answers to FAQs and much more. In a spare moment, we invite you to jump in and take a look!
We’d like to get to know you! Read our bios, connect with us through LinkedIn, Facebook or other social media outlets. Drop us a line at inquire@aoeconsulting.com.
Accreditation Board Bulletin
ACCME: The ACCME’s Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS) deadline for completing 2015 data entry is March 31, 2016. The ACCME has made improvements to PARS beginning with the 2015 reporting year that will carry over to the 2016 reporting year. The improvements include elimination of items that were difficult to standardize and didn’t add value to the annual reports. As well, many optional fields within PARS have been updated to required fields. Providers are now required to report the following:
- Name of joint providers (formerly “joint sponsors”).
- Number of designated AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.
- Competency(ies) the activity was designed to address.
- Providers select from a list of competencies including ACGME/ABMS, Institute of Medicine, Interprofessional Education Collaborative, and Other.
- Name of commercial supporter(s), the monetary amount of support, and/or the type of in-kind support given by each supporter.
- PARS will continue to offer checkboxes for types of in-kind support. For “other in-kind support,” providers will no longer need to complete a description field.
- In addition, a new section will automatically summarize the commercial support information reported for all commercial supporters of the activity.
- PARS will continue to offer checkboxes for types of in-kind support. For “other in-kind support,” providers will no longer need to complete a description field.
The following data will not be reported for individual CME activities:
- Advertising and exhibit income. This information will be submitted only in aggregate in the Program Summary.
- Income from other sources. This information will be submitted only in aggregate, in three specific categories, in the Program Summary.
- Expenses. This information will no longer be collected in PARS.
The ACCME has prepared several resources to support the changes for the 2015 and 2016 reporting years including video FAQs.
ACPE: In December, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) and the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) boards of directors updated their Accreditation Standards for Pharmacy Technician Education and Training Programs. This update expands the flexibility of training programs to meet requirements regarding the number and types of student experiential activities that must be performed, recommending two different contemporary pharmacy practice experiences. These changes took effect on January 1, 2016.
These refinements will support the quality of pharmacy technician education and training programs while reflecting the diversity of programs needed to prepare pharmacy technicians for certification and practice in many different patient care settings.
The Pharmacy Technician Accreditation Commission (PTAC) advised the updates. PTAC was established in 2014 by ACPE and ASHP to promote, assure, and advance the quality of pharmacy technician education and training programs in the United States. Accreditation standards are approved by both the ASHP and ACPE boards of directors. Read more here.
ANCC: The ANCC has recently announced that all annual reports from all accredited organizations will be due on or before April 1, 2016. A reminder and instruction letter will be sent to all accredited organizations no later than February 1, 2016, and as usual, forms for annual report data are available on the accreditation web site. Additionally, the ANCC will be implementing a revised accreditation fee structure in 2016 for new applicants and in 2017 for reaccrediting applicants. Read more here.
ABIM’s MOC Program
The American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM)’s Maintenance of Certification (MOC) continues to evolve. The policy extension in 2015 is still in effect: ABIM will not require Practice Assessment, Patient Voice and Patient Safety in its MOC program through 12/31/2018.
More recently, effective January 1 of this year, ABIM diplomates will no longer need to maintain underlying certification in a foundational discipline to remain certified in any of ABIM’s twenty subspecialties.
This policy change affects only the nine subspecialties that currently have this requirement: Adolescent Medicine, Adult Congenital Heart Disease, Advanced Heart Failure & Transplant Cardiology, Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology, Hospice & Palliative Medicine, Interventional Cardiology, Sleep Medicine, Sports Medicine and Transplant Hepatology.
(For example, effective January 1, 2016, Interventional Cardiology diplomates will no longer need to maintain Cardiovascular Disease certification in order to maintain certification in Interventional Cardiology.)
AOE Service in the Spotlight
Do your meeting attendees have questions about how to obtain their CME/CE credit? Would additional, hands-on CME/CE compliance expertise be helpful at your live meetings to aid in slide review, session audits and/or on-site faculty management?
From assistance with attendee evaluation questions to implementation and documentation of CME/CE compliance at annual, regional, and local meetings, AOE helps accredited organizations deliver excellent customer service and ensure compliance with ACCME, ANCC, ACPE, and several other accreditation board guidelines with our On-Site, On-DemandSM Accreditation Compliance Services. In this role, our staff becomes an extension of your team, bringing the compliance expertise needed to execute your CME/CE processes.
What are our clients saying about AOE’s On-Site, On-DemandSM??
“AOE’s On-Site, On Demand team allowed us to reduce staffing at our registration desk and earn kudos from attendees for improved support and quick answers to questions about credit and evaluations. This is now a must-have for our conference attendees.”
– American Society of Pain Educators
Upcoming Activities/Education Opportunities
- CME as a Bridge to Quality Accreditation Workshop
April 14-15, 2016, Chicago IL
Read More >>
Getting Started with Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education Workshop
April 20, 2016
Read More >> - Joint Accreditation 101
Webinar – Available Now
Read More >> - CME that Counts for ABIM MOC Webinar
Available Now
Read More >>
