Welcome to the AOE Compliance Connection, AOE Consulting’s monthly newsletter. This resource offers accreditation board bulletins for ACCME, ACPE, and ANCC, along with regulatory updates, highlights of AOE’s services, and information on upcoming activities and educational opportunities.
Navigating Education Excellence is our work. Our combined experience has improved effectiveness and success for more than 50 education providers, pharmaceutical CME/IME teams, hospitals, academic centers, and associations. Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.” At AOE, excellence is more than a habit—it’s our business.
Enjoy this month’s edition of AOE Compliance Connection! We encourage you to visit www.aoeconsulting.com for more information, including weekly compliance tips and bi-monthly video blogs!
Accreditation Board Bulletin
ACCME: The ACCME recently announced the release of its 2014 Annual Report data: . The most recent annual report data displays a flourishing group of over 1,900 accredited CME providers across the country. These CME providers offered more than 147,000 educational activities in 2014, an increase from 138,000 reported in 2013. Additionally, CME providers offered more than 1 million hours of instruction! The functionality of PARS has enabled the ACCME to produce more complete annual reports in recent years and demonstrates that the CME industry is a thriving and growing one, impacting change. Almost 100% of activities are designed to change physician competence, 60% are designed to change physician performance, and 30% are designed to change patient outcomes. There was over $2.6 billion dollars of income reported in 2014, with the majority of the income coming from registration fees, government grants, private donations, and institutional allocations.
As a reminder, the ACCME has made updates to the PARS system for the 2015 reporting year, which impacts activities taking place now. The PARS educational resources link has been refreshed to reflect these 2015 changes: review frequently asked questions. The deadline for completing PARS data entry for the 2015 reporting year is not until March 31, 2016, but it a good reminder now as to give you and your organization time to prepare and acquaint yourself with the changes. For additional Questions and Answers, directly from ACCME.
ANCC: The ANCC recently announced new progress report submission guidelines as of July 1, 2015. If your organization has a progress report coming due, from this date forward, organizations are expected to follow the new guidelines and requirements. Progress reports are separate and different from annual reports; a progress report is a submission requirement based on the ANCC’s accreditation decision and to demonstrate compliance with ANCC criteria. One noteworthy change to submission requirements is that the ANCC is no longer requiring hard copies, only electronic versions of PDF, bookmarked files may be submitted. If you have questions, concerns, or did not receive these changes via email from ANCC, contact Elizabeth.collins@ana.org.
Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional CE™: What do you know?
Has your organization been considering Joint Accreditation to provide medical, pharmacy, and nursing continuing education through one, integrated application process, fee structure, and set of standards? Here some quick facts regarding the program and eligibility:
Joint Accreditation was launched in 2009 through an alliance between ACCME, ACPE, and ANCC. A principal model for interprofessional collaborative practice, Joint Accreditation inaugurated the standards for education providers to provide continuing education planned by the healthcare team for the healthcare team. The Joint Accreditation model promotes interprofessional education that pilots better-quality healthcare delivery and improved patient outcomes.
The standards for Joint Accreditation are high. To be eligible, your organization must validate that for the previous 18 months, your construction and processes to plan and present education, by and for the healthcare team, have been fully operational. Additionally, a minimum of 25% of your educational activities must have been designed by and for healthcare teams. Furthermore, your organization must exhibit accordance with the Joint Accreditation criteria. Education providers who become Joint Accredited must meet demanding standards for educational quality and commercial independence, including the ACCME’s Standards for Commercial Support: Standards to Ensure Independence in CME Activities℠.
For more information including benefits, requirements, and the application process, visit: http://www.jointaccreditation.org/.
AOE Service in the Spotlight
Did your organization recently receive notice from the ACCME that you are part of the July 2016 re-accreditation cohort? Is your group part of a more distant re-accreditation cohort, but would like to get an early jump on the process and help ensure your programs compliance? Is your group approaching re-accreditation for a different medical education accrediting body such as the ACPE or ANCC? Let AOE put our experience to work for you.
As the CME/CE accreditation and re-accreditation landscapes continue to evolve, it helps to have a guide with a combination of compliance expertise, and a proven track record of quality. AOE has been involved in more than 20 successful accreditations and re-accreditations, and our team continues to interview multiple accreditation board surveyors in order to keep our recommendations timely, efficient, and accurate.
AOE is ready to partner with you and your team to provide a customized approach to help your organization achieve a successful re-accreditation. Whether you are looking for someone to take the lead in outlining, drafting, and assembling your re-accreditation materials, or if you’re simply looking for a thorough compliance review before submission, AOE has a range of services to fit your organizations specific needs.
Re-Accreditation Support Services Include:
- CME/CE Program Audit and Accreditation Workshop
- CME/CE Policy &Procedure Review, Updates and/or Development
- ACCME, ACPE, and ANCC Self-Study Design, Development, Compliance Review and/or Editing
- Activity File Audit
- Performance-in-Practice Activity File Audit, Compilation and/or Compliance Review
- Mock Survey
- On-Site ACCME Interview
Here at AOE we know that your accreditation is important to your organization, and we know that the re-accreditation process can seem daunting. Let us partner with your organization, and use our experience and compliance expertise to help ensure a successful re-accreditation which will allow you to provide continuing medical education for years to come.
Upcoming Activities/Education Opportunities
- Becoming an ACCME Volunteer Surveyor
July 30, 2015, 1:00 PM-2:00 PM, Webinar
Read More >> - Self-Study for ACCME Accreditation Session
August 5, 2015, Chicago, IL
Read More >> - CME as a Bridge to Quality Accreditation Workshop
August 6, 2015, Chicago, IL
Read More >> - 2015 Alliance Quality Symposium
September 28-30, 2015, Chicago, IL
Read More >> - 2015 CPE Administrator’s Workshop
October 1-2, 2015, Chicago, IL
Read More >>
