Credit Translations

Maintenance of Certification at BCM

For questions, please contact: BCM MOC Program

Credit Translation and Requirements

As a designated Program Sponsor, Baylor College of Medicine is authorized to review and provide guidance on QI activities and participation for MOC Part 4/NCCPA Category 1 PI-CME eligibility, based on the guidelines, standards, and criteria established by the ABMS Portfolio Program. This process is conducted through the BCM MOC Program.

For credit consideration, a qualified QI activity/project must meet all stated QI Activity Requirements, and the evidence of physician/PA participation in a qualified QI activity must be submitted in accordance with stated Meaningful Participation Requirements. Further, ABMS Member Board- or NCCPA-specific credit translations and requirements must be met, along with any additional diplomate criteria, where applicable, as required by some participating Boards. Finally, all physician/PA submissions for credit consideration must meet relevant BCM MOC Program submission guidelines and deadlines, which vary by QI Effort Type.

Refer to the following sections for more information:

Table 1. Requirements and Credit Translation for Continuing Certification (per ABMS Member Board and NCCPA)
Table 2. Additional Diplomate Requirements (per applicable ABMS Member Board)

CREDIT ISSUANCE & FEES

MOC Part 4/NCCPA Category 1 PI-CME credit is not issued by the BCM MOC Program; rather, credit is granted through the BCM MOC Program (in accordance with the ABMS Portfolio Program) by the relevant participating ABMS Member Boards or the NCCPA.

All submissions for MOC Part 4 or NCCPA Category 1 PI-CME credit consideration are subject to audit and further review by the relevant participating Member Board or the NCCPA, who maintains ultimate authority for final approval. If approved, credit is issued accordingly by the relevant Board/NCCPA, based on their respective credit translations and requirements (described below), and physicians and PAs should expect to see their credit issued directly to their respective Member Board or NCCPA profiles.

At this time, there is no cost to earn credit through the BCM MOC Program. However, any applicable fees required by the participating ABMS Member Boards or the NCCPA must be current in order for an eligible physician or PA to receive credit. Physicians/PAs should contact their certifying bodies directly with any questions in this regard.

Table 1.

Requirements & Credit Translation for Continuing Certification

ABMS Member Boards and NCCPA

The table below identifies the requirements of participating ABMS Member Boards and the NCCPA for meeting continuing certification/maintenance of certification (MOC) requirements through the BCM MOC Program (in accordance with the ABMS Portfolio Program).

With that said, the table provides only a high-level summary, based on information available at the time of its development. As such, it is the responsibility of each physician/PA to refer to the respective website (links are provided in the table) of their relevant participating Board(s) or the NCCPA for current credit requirements, as well as to track their own progress through their respective Board-specific MOC accreditation cycle.

Updated: February 2024 (Source: ABMS Portfolio Program)

Table 2.

Additional Diplomate Requirements

Applicable ABMS Member Boards

In addition to the requirements described above, some participating ABMS Member Boards have additional requirements that must be completed by their respective diplomates, as follows:

AMERICAN BOARD OF DERMATOLOGY (ABD)

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

Although the BCM MOC Program submits physician completions to ABD through the ABMS Portfolio Program, each individual physician ALSO must report their completion information to ABD, using their physician portal (as described below).

Note: The physician's completion report to ABD is in addition to (NOT in place of) the submission by the BCM MOC Program.

ABD Physician Portal

In the "Update Your MOC" section of the portal, you should see the following instructions:

"Document your completion of a Practice Improvement exercise by selecting the appropriate exercise category from the drop-down menu and then entering the program details."

When prompted with the below items, enter the information noted in yellow:

Type: [ENTER: “Practice Assessment QI Exercise”]

Choose a Resource: [ENTER: “ABMS Multi-Specialty Portfolio Program”

Notes: [ENTER: "ABMS Portfolio Program Sponsor: Baylor College of Medicine"] and [ENTER: "QI Activity Title: (*insert the name of the activity in which you participated*)"]

Date Completed: [ENTER: (*insert the date on which you completed the QI Activity/when your participation in the activity ended*)]

AMERICAN BOARD OF FAMILY MEDICINE (ABFM)

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

The ABFM does NOT permit a physician to receive credit more than once for the same QI Effort/Activity.

If a physician completes multiple iterations of the same QI Effort, the physician must:

Alert the BCM MOC Program of each iteration by emphasizing the respective version number on all relevant forms they submit to the BCM MOC Program.
QI Effort Title: The respective version number (e.g., "Version 2", "Version 3", etc.) should be included as part of the QI Effort Title indicated on each form.
Submit separate forms to the BCM MOC Program for each iteration of the QI Effort (e.g., "version 2 submission", "version 3 submission", etc.).

Keep in mind the following when conducting the QI Effort and completing required forms for submission to the BCM MOC Program:
- The stated AIM statement/SMART goal must remain the same across all subsequent versions.
- A minimum of at least one (1) measure that directly addresses the AIM statement/SMART goal must remain the same across all subsequent versions.
- The new version must include at least one (1) new intervention from each previous version.

Note: The above information is used by the BCM MOC Program to prepare (on behalf of the physician) necessary materials for submission to the ABMS Portfolio Program, which requires that each version of the same QI Effort to be submitted separately.

AMERICAN BOARD OF INTERNAL MEDICINE (ABIM)

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

The ABIM will not award credit to a physician for a QI Effort, unless ALL of the following are true:

The physician has not previously received credit for the same QI Effort.

The physician completion* notification is submitted (by the BCM MOC Program) to the ABMS Portfolio Program:
- within the same year that the QI Effort was done AND
- per the ABMS Portfolio Program deadline.

*Please Be Advised: In order for the BCM MOC Program to meet (on behalf of the physician) the above requirements for "physician completion" submissions to the ABMS Portfolio Program, the physician must submit all required forms (including a "Physician/PA Attestation & Reflection Form") to the BCM MOC Program. Further, the Physician/PA Attestation & Reflection Form must be submitted: 1) within the same year that the QI Effort was done, and 2) by the indicated BCM MOC Program deadline.

The information provided in the forms is used by the BCM MOC Program to prepare/submit required materials to the ABMS Portfolio Program (including physician completion notifications).

AMERICAN BOARD OF GENETICS & GENOMICS (ABMGG)

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

The ABMGG includes both physician and PhD diplomates.

Diplomates in both categories are permitted to participate in the BCM MOC Program for credit consideration.

AMERICAN BOARD OF PEDIATRICS (ABP)

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

Content
The QI Activity:
- Must focus on improving the health of children through quality improvement activities.
- Must address practice activities related to patients or patient care for which the physician is responsible.
- The aim statements/SMART goals of the project must address at least one (1) IOM Quality Dimension.
- Must include process and/or outcomes measures that also focus on one (1) or more IOM Quality Dimensions AND one (1) or more ABMS/ACGME Core Competencies.

Development
The QI Activity:
- Should be based on evidence-based practice guidelines, explicit expert consensus, or successful QI effort.
- Should assure up-to-date content through periodic (at least once every three years) expert review and revision.
- Should contain a systematic program evaluation and a process for improving the activity.
- Should provide comparisons of physician practice performance with peers and with evidence-based outcomes (when available).

Elements
The QI Activity:
- Should incorporate the principles of quality improvement and the systems improvement approach.
- Should provide participants an opportunity to demonstrate understanding of quality improvement by including at least two (2) full improvement cycles (not including baseline data collection). For example: After the collection of baseline data, implement at least two (2) separate changes (interventions) to improve care, and conduct follow-up measurements after EACH change/intervention to see if improvement occurred.
- Must have a minimum of 10 patients or events for EACH of at least three (3) improvement cycles. Each cycle should be of sufficient length to allow time for change/intervention to be made. The minimum time required between cycles must be stated.
- Should provide frequent feedback by helping physicians collect and analyze individual and/or group practice data utilizing run or control charts or an appropriate alternative.

Refer to the ABP website for more information.

AMERICAN BOARD OF SURGERY (ABS)

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

ABS diplomates are required to submit an annual Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Report (to include MOC Part 4 requirements) to the ABS.

Contact the ABS for more information.