Several recent changes to requirements from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) should make the process of pursuing maintenance of certification (MOC) simpler for psychiatrists.
The ABPN has announced that diplomates are no longer required to complete both patient feedback and peer feedback modules in the Improvement in Medical Practice (PIP, formerly Performance in Practice) section unit. Instead, they may now select from one of the following options: patient feedback from five patients; peer feedback from five peers; resident evaluation from five respondents; 360-degree evaluation from five respondents; institutional peer review from five respondents; or supervisor evaluation from one supervisor.
The PIP unit is designed for “clinically active” physicians and must be preapproved by the ABPN. There are three ways to satisfy the PIP requirements: choose a product from the ABPN-approved MOC products list; participate in an American Board of Medical Specialties Portfolio Program through their institution; or seek preapproval for an individual or institutional quality-improvement activity. The approval request form is available on the ABPN
website under “Forms.”
The PIP unit must be completed within 24 months; there are two modules to a PIP unit—a Clinical Chart Review Module and a Feedback Module.
Another important change is that the ABPN will waive requirements for Self-Assessment Continuing Medical Education credits when diplomates complete certain educational activities that do not grant CME credits. Up to 16 Self-Assessment CME credits may be waived for each three-year MOC block with two different non-CME Self-Assessment activities.
Examples of acceptable non-CME self-assessment activities include passing an ABPN certification or MOC exam, approval of a scientific grant application, publishing an academic or scientific journal article, taking non-CME self-assessment exams that are part of patient-safety courses, participating in four hours of peer supervision with documented feedback, and undergoing peer review with documented feedback.
And there is good news for diplomates involved in more than one certification board—those who currently meet another American Board of Medical Specialties member board’s MOC activity requirements (such as any CME, self-assessment, and/or PIP activities) may receive ABPN credit for those activities.
MOC is a continuous professional development program created by the ABPN and other member boards of the American Board of Medical Specialties. MOC goes beyond traditional recertification to a process of ongoing learning, assessment, and improvement throughout a psychiatrist’s career. ■
Information about these changes and other MOC requirements is available from the ABPN by phone at (847) 229-6512, by email at
[email protected], and on their
website.
