FP Report -- June 1999
AAFP announces plan to revamp CME categories
The AAFP Board of Directors and the Commission on Continuing Medical Education are taking steps to maximize fairness and consistency during the CME review process.
"This started because of increasing difficulty in accrediting complementary and alternative practices CME," said Norman Kahn, M.D., AAFP vice president for education and science.
This problem was especially apparent in states that require CME for relicensure.
"We know members want to take some CAP courses," said Kahn. "But the state boards were concerned about the value of CME that advocates or teaches unproven therapies. We want to make sure members can get the CME credit they need and get relicensed in their states without a challenge."
The AAFP Board approved the concept of these changes during its March meeting. The Commission on CME will meet again in June to determine the criteria and prepare a report for the September meeting of the AAFP Congress of Delegates in Orlando, Fla.
The commission has proposed modifying the AAFP system of evaluating and categorizing clinical CME content as follows:
Eligible for Prescribed or Elective credit -- content covering evidence-based or customary and generally accepted practice, or teaching the evidence to elucidate the danger of clinical practices.
Eligible for Elective credit -- content about neither evidence-based nor customary and generally accepted practice, but not determined to be dangerous.
Ineligible for Prescribed or Elective credit -- content for which evidence basis determines clinical practices to be dangerous or clinically unacceptable and without demonstrable clinical efficacy.
A minimum number of hours on evidence-based or generally accepted practice would be required under this system. The Commission on CME would determine specific criteria for deciding how topics and therapies would be assigned to the three categories of clinical content for CME.
"We feel these are important improvements," said Kahn.
"If this new system is approved," he added, "we will work with members, other national accrediting organizations and constituent chapters to achieve acceptance and application of these principles."
FP Report is published by the AAFP News Department. Copyright © 1999 by American Academy of Family Physicians.
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