On Aug. 28, the American Board of Radiology (ABR) announced that VIR certificate holders must choose between converting their DR and VIR certificates to the new Interventional Radiology/Diagnostic Radiology (IR/DR) Certificate or opting out and retaining only their DR certificate. To address concerns heard from our membership, SIR hosted two webinars to allow ABR to answer member questions—expressed on SIR Connect and through an SIR letter—about this crucial step in establishing IR as a primary specialty. In addition to the webinars and ABR’s response on SIR Connect, we have also published a Frequently Asked Questions document to guide members. SIR and ABR stand with you as you go through this process and we are ready to address any additional concerns you may have. Below are resources to help you through this process:
What is Maintenance of Certification?
Maintenance of Certification (MOC) is an integral part of the quality movement in healthcare. Patients, your physician peers, and your colleagues all value MOC because it demonstrates your support for continuous quality improvement, professional development, and quality patient care.
The American Board of Radiology oversees the MOC process. In 2012, the ABR implemented a new MOC process, known as Continuous Certification, for all participating MOC diplomates. Every year on March 2, the ABR reviews the previous three calendar years to determine if each diplomate is meeting the requirements of MOC. For more information about Continuous Certification, visit the ABR page here.
The MOC program evaluates, on a continuous basis, the SIX ESSENTIAL COMPETENCIES as defined by the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS):
- Medical knowledge
- Patient care and procedural skills
- Interpersonal and communication skills
- Professionalism
- Practice-based learning and improvement
- Systems-based practice
This part requires valid, unrestricted licensure in all states of practice. A diplomate must report any state board action against a license to the ABR within 60 days. For more information visit the ABR website.
A minimum of 75 AMA Category 1 CME credits is required every three years. At least 25 of these must be Self-Assessment CME (SA-CME). In addition to ABR-prequalified SAMs, the ABR will count all AMA Category 1 CME activities in “enduring materials” (including web-based and print) and “journal-based CME” formats toward the SA-CME requirement. More details about Part 2 can be found on the ABR website.
This part requires passing the most recent summative decision for the online longitudinal assessment or passing a traditional exam in the previous 5 years. Those who need to pass an MOC exam by March 2, 2017 (as indicated on the Part 3 tab in myABR) are still required to take and pass the exam in 2016 to meet the Part 3 requirement. All other diplomates will be deferred from completing the Part 3 requirement and therefore will not need to take the traditional MOC exam until the new MOC Part 3 process is available.
To satisfy Part 4, diplomates complete at least one Practice Quality Improvement (PQI) Project OR Participatory Quality Improvement Activity every three years. A PQI project or activity may be conducted repeatedly or continuously and may include an individual only, a group of diplomates, or an institutional multidisciplinary collaboration. The ABR honors each diplomate’s privilege to choose PQI activities or projects that are pertinent to his or her practice. For complete details, see the ABR website.
This information is also available as a brochure. Visit the ABR website for additional information.
