August 16, 2018: Diplomates certified by the American Board of Preventive Medicine (ABPM) in Clinical Informatics and Addiction Medicine will no longer be required to maintain primary certifications in order to recertify in these subspecialty areas. With this policy change, diplomates certified by the ABPM in Clinical Informatics and Addiction Medicine join those ABPM diplomates certified in Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine and Medical Toxicology who may recertify their ABPM subspecialty certificate without the need to maintain primary certification.

In announcing this new policy, ABPM’s Board Chair M. ‘Tonette’ Krousel-Wood, MD, MSPH, said, “The ABPM is committed to reducing the burden on ABPM diplomates while preserving the integrity and rigor of the requirements for those certified by the ABPM in Clinical Informatics and Addiction Medicine. Under the new policy, diplomates certified by the ABPM in Clinical Informatics and Addiction Medicine will no longer be required to maintain their primary certification in order to recertify in their subspecialty. This is an important step as the ABPM continues to explore ‘value-added’ changes to its MOC program.”

The new policy will become effective on January 1, 2019.

About ABPM

The ABPM is a Member Board of the American Board of Medical Specialties and was originally incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware on June 29, 1948 as “The American Board of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Incorporated.” In 1952, the name was changed to The American Board of Preventive Medicine, Inc., and currently the ABPM certifies physicians in the primary specialties of Aerospace Medicine, Occupational Medicine, and Public Health/General Preventive Medicine, and Subspecialties of Addiction Medicine, Clinical Informatics, Medical Toxicology and Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine.