| The American Board of Preventive Medicine’s Enhancing Professional Improvement and Quality (EPIQ) Program leads to renewal of certification every ten years. Many changes are taking place in the certification and maintenance of certification of physicians. The American Board of Preventive Medicine (ABPM) as a member board of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) has adapted its recertification process to keep pace with the changes in this dynamic area of specialty certification. ABPM’s maintenance of certification program is called “Enhancing Professional Improvement and Quality" (EPIQ) and is in compliance with the ABMS Maintenance of Certification© requirements. Maintenance of certification (MOC) is the board certification process for assessment of continuing competencies of physicians and encompasses recertification. All Member Boards of the American Board of Medical Specialties must provide MOC programs for their diplomates. The following four components make up the EPIQ MOC Program: |
- Evidence of professional standing
- Evidence of commitment to lifelong learning and involvement in periodic self-assessment
- Evidence of cognitive expertise
- Evidence of evaluation of performance in practice
|
| Mandatory participation in the EPIQ Program began with diplomates who received time-limited certificates in 1998. All diplomates certified in 1998 or later must complete a maintenance of certification program within 10 years of their initial certification and every 10 years thereafter. In August 2001 the ABPM modified the recertification program for diplomates holding time-limited certificates and all diplomates with time limited certificates must now demonstrate accomplishment of the above four components. |
| ABPM’s EPIQ Program will continue to evolve in concert with ABMS requirements. The EPIQ Program is offered to all diplomates who have been issued ten-year, time-limited certificates and completion of the program is required to maintain a valid certificate. Voluntary participation in the EPIQ Program is also offered to diplomates who hold unlimited time certificates. Diplomates may complete the EPIQ Program in any of the specialty areas in which they hold a valid ABPM primary certificate: Aerospace Medicine, Occupational Medicine, or Public Health and General Preventive Medicine. The EPIQ Program will also be available for holders of an ABPM subspecialty certificate in Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine. Those diplomates who hold and ABPM subspecialty certificate in Medical Toxicology should refer to the ABEM website for details on Maintenance of Certification. Upon successful completion of the EPIQ Program a renewed certificate will be issued that is valid for ten years from the date of issuance. |
The ABPM EPIQ Program, in compliance with ABMS requirements as currently defined, includes the following components.
- Professional Standing - possess current, valid, unrestricted medical licenses in all States, U.S. Territories, and Provinces of Canada in which the diplomate is licensed to practice medicine.
- Lifelong Learning & Self-assessment – completion of 100 hours of ABPM-approved CME or educational modules which includes 300 items of self-assessment.
- Cognitive exam – all diplomates holding time-limited certificates will be required to take and pass a cognitive exam. Diplomates may begin taking the examination seven (7) years after receiving their initial certification, and may repeat the examination annually if necessary to pass it prior to the expiration of their certificate. This exam is multiple-choice and proctored. The examination consists of 100 questions and was first available in 2005 for diplomates receiving time-limited certificates in 1998.
- Practice Performance Assessment – this component of the EPIQ Program applies to those diplomates whose certificate expires in 2011 or later. This component utilizes a quality improvement model with opportunities for assessment of practice performance and improvement activities available in clinical practice, teaching, research, and administration. Specific programs are provided by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and are currently under development by the American College of Preventive Medicine and the Aerospace Medical Association.
Return to top
|
| Schedule of required CME hours for diplomates with multiple ABPM certificates |
| First ABPM certificate | 100 hours |
| Second ABPM certificate | 40 additional hours (total of 140) |
| Third ABPM certificate | 20 additional hours (total of 160) |
|
| Return to top
|
| Phase-in of required CME hours for diplomates certified between 1998 and 2003 |
| Certification Year | Expiration Year | Hours of CME | * Self-assessment Items |
|---|
| 1998 | 2008 | 50 | 150 |
| 1999 | 2009 | 60 | 180 |
| 2000 | 2010 | 70 | 210 |
| 2001 | 2011 | 80 | 240 |
| 2002 | 2012 | 90 | 270 |
| 2003 & beyond | 2013 & beyond | 100 | 300 |
| * Each hour of approved CME includes 3 self-assessment questions/items. |
|
| Fees* |
Initial registration fee of $200. This fee covers the creation of your EPIQ program file and the tracking of your progress throughout the 10-year period.
EPIQ exam fee = current year's exam fee minus the $200 registration fee. The first EPIQ exams were offered in 2005. There is an examination fee at the time of the EPIQ examination to cover the Board’s review and action on your EPIQ package and the examination itself. This fee will include the verification of your medical license and currency of practice, the administration and scoring of the examination, and other features of the EPIQ Program required by the American Board of Medical Specialties.
* All fees are reviewed annually and are subject to change at the direction of the Board.
Return to top
|
