Participants in the Maintenance of Certification Program for Family Physicians, or MC-FP, soon will have the option to extend the length of their recertification cycle from seven years to 10 years.
"Most people are certainly going to appreciate right off the bat that they probably will have the opportunity to take one less examination, maybe two less examinations, over the course of their entire professional career," said James Puffer, M.D., concerning the 10-year option. Puffer is president and chief executive officer of the American Board of Family Medicine, which launched MC-FP in 2004 and, on Oct. 31, announced the extension.
MC-FP Changes on Tap
ABFM Offers Option of 10-Year Recertification Cycle
By Jane Stoever
11/7/2005
Effective in January 2007, family physicians participating in MC-FP will have the option of extending their original seven-year certificate by three years as long as they complete MC-FP requirements on time. Namely, FPs will need to complete Self-Assessment Modules, or SAMs, and Performance in Practice Modules, or PPMs, in the time frame the ABFM requires. Currently, MC-FP participants are required to take six SAMs (one in each of the first six years of the seven-year cycle) and one PPM over the course of the entire seven-year cycle. The statement announcing the extension said Diplomates currently in the MC-FP process should continue to complete program requirements according to the schedule already published by the ABFM. This will guarantee their ability to take full advantage of the new option when it is rolled out in 2007, said Puffer.
The ABFM Board of Directors voted for the extension and other improvements during its meeting Oct. 9 - 12 in Colorado Springs, Colo. The ABFM will announce full details of the modified program in January 2006.
"We are moving away from our traditional recertification process where the most important aspect was the recertification examination given every seven years," said Puffer. "The changes in the current program underscore the point that the ABFM Board of Directors feels the four elements of the maintenance of certification process, when done appropriately in a continuous fashion, are far more powerful tools for assessing a family physician’s fitness for certification than simply assessing a Diplomate's knowledge every seven years by examination."
Welcoming the extension option, AAFP President Larry Fields, M.D., of Ashland, Ky., said, "The ABFM has been making a concerted effort to take input from all people who have a stake in the MC-FP process. This change will have a positive effect on family physicians in practice. We will now have the option to go 10 years between examinations but will have the advantage of continuing to do maintenance of certification to keep our knowledge base current during that time. It's a winning situation for everybody involved."
MC-FP elements provide evidence of professional standing (valid and unrestricted licenses in all states where licenses are held), self-assessment and lifelong learning (the SAMs and 300 CME credits required over the course of the cycle for maintenance of certification), cognitive expertise (passing the ABFM examination), and performance in practice (PPMs).
Asked to explain details of improvements other than the extension, Puffer said the ABFM Board of Directors did not want to announce specifics piecemeal. In January, the ABFM will delineate such details as the numbers and deadlines for SAMs, PPMs and CME credits for maintenance-of-certification cycles longer than seven years.
Family physicians who recertified in 2003 were the first to enter the MC-FP process and were required to complete a SAM in 2004. The ABFM extended the Dec. 31, 2004, deadline for the SAM to April 15 and worked to streamline the MC-FP process. Out of about 11,000 physicians who were eligible to begin the MC-FP process in 2004, 8,000-plus have completed a SAM to date, yielding a percentage Puffer said was close to that for people who historically recertify at the end of any given seven-year cycle. "Any Diplomate who has chosen, for whatever reason, not to complete the (SAM) requirement has an opportunity to catch up at any point before the end of the cycle," said Puffer. "There's a mechanism available for people who wish to re-enter the process."
The ABFM Board of Directors voted for the extension and other improvements during its meeting Oct. 9 - 12 in Colorado Springs, Colo. The ABFM will announce full details of the modified program in January 2006.
"We are moving away from our traditional recertification process where the most important aspect was the recertification examination given every seven years," said Puffer. "The changes in the current program underscore the point that the ABFM Board of Directors feels the four elements of the maintenance of certification process, when done appropriately in a continuous fashion, are far more powerful tools for assessing a family physician’s fitness for certification than simply assessing a Diplomate's knowledge every seven years by examination."
Welcoming the extension option, AAFP President Larry Fields, M.D., of Ashland, Ky., said, "The ABFM has been making a concerted effort to take input from all people who have a stake in the MC-FP process. This change will have a positive effect on family physicians in practice. We will now have the option to go 10 years between examinations but will have the advantage of continuing to do maintenance of certification to keep our knowledge base current during that time. It's a winning situation for everybody involved."
MC-FP elements provide evidence of professional standing (valid and unrestricted licenses in all states where licenses are held), self-assessment and lifelong learning (the SAMs and 300 CME credits required over the course of the cycle for maintenance of certification), cognitive expertise (passing the ABFM examination), and performance in practice (PPMs).
Asked to explain details of improvements other than the extension, Puffer said the ABFM Board of Directors did not want to announce specifics piecemeal. In January, the ABFM will delineate such details as the numbers and deadlines for SAMs, PPMs and CME credits for maintenance-of-certification cycles longer than seven years.
Family physicians who recertified in 2003 were the first to enter the MC-FP process and were required to complete a SAM in 2004. The ABFM extended the Dec. 31, 2004, deadline for the SAM to April 15 and worked to streamline the MC-FP process. Out of about 11,000 physicians who were eligible to begin the MC-FP process in 2004, 8,000-plus have completed a SAM to date, yielding a percentage Puffer said was close to that for people who historically recertify at the end of any given seven-year cycle. "Any Diplomate who has chosen, for whatever reason, not to complete the (SAM) requirement has an opportunity to catch up at any point before the end of the cycle," said Puffer. "There's a mechanism available for people who wish to re-enter the process."
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