• AAFP Credit System News        

    Stay up to date on the ever-changing environment of CME!

    Learn how the AAFP Credit System is involved in making the jobs of CME providers easier so they can continue providing quality education for family physicians and other members of the health care team.
     

    Coming June 2024: New Content Lifespan Policy and Updated Credit Definitions

    The AAFP Credit System recently updated its policies. Those updates took effect immediately on January 9, 2024. However, two additional changes are launching June 2024. Those changes are:

    • Content lifespan policy
    • Prescribed and Elective credit definitions

    The Credit System is allowing CME providers six months to update their policies and procedures to ensure they comply with those changes come June 2024.  To help prepare for those changes, here’s exactly what those changes are:

    NEW Content Lifespan Policy: To ensure consistently up-to-date information, CME providers are required to review and update the educational content of CME activities a minimum of every three years, or more frequently if appropriate or as required due to new scientific developments and updates. CME providers will be required to provide evidence of their content review and update process during a CME activity audit and/or upon request.

    Updated Credit Definitions:

    Prescribed Credit: The CME activity must be primarily designed for physicians and have an AAFP active or life member directly involved, as described below, to ensure appropriateness for physicians and relevancy to the specialty of family medicine.

    The member should review the titles and learning objectives for each topic within the CME activity. The review should focus on ensuring all topics included in the activity are relevant to the scope of family medicine and designed at a level of educationally appropriate for physicians who graduated from medical school and have been awarded a M.D./D.O. degree. If the member agrees that the content meets the definition of AAFP Prescribed credit, then they should provide their AAFP ID number for the credit application. 

    Elective Credit: The CME activity may be primarily designed for health care professionals other than physicians. Direct involvement of an AAFP active or life member as outlined in the Prescribed credit definition is not required. 

    Questions about these changes? Don’t hesitate to contact us at 800-274-2237 or at cmecredit@aafp.org

    FY 2023 Annual Snapshot

    For the first time ever, the AAFP Credit System has put together and shared an annual report—or snapshot—outlining how many activities and sessions we approved for credit during our last fiscal year (June 1, 2022 – May 31, 2023). It also includes fun facts such as the top five topics that were approved most frequently, how many credits were available to learners, etc. View the FY 2023 Annual Snapshot.

    Helpful Resources for CME Providers

    Are you new to the world of CME? Or, just interested in tools to help make applying for AAFP CME credit easier? Then checkout these helpful resources:

    Questions or not seeing a resource that you need? Call our team at 800-274-2237 or email us.


    State Requirements Credit App Question

    The AAFP Credit System has added a new question to its credit applications to allow CME providers to capture when a CME activity meets topic-specific State Medical Board (SMB) requirements. This new question appears on credit applications created on or after Tuesday, March 21, 2023.

    If you intentionally designed your CME activity to meet state requirements, then you’ll select “yes” on this question in the credit application: “Does the educational content meet any state medical board mandated topic-specific requirement?” You’ll then choose the state medical board (e.g. CO) whose topic-specific requirements are met within your education. Following that, you’ll choose which topic requirement the activity addresses (e.g. pain management). Lastly, you’ll check an attestation box designating that your activity truly meets these requirements, and that you can provide evidence supporting that, if requested.

    If your CME activities are not designed to meet state requirements, then you’ll simply select “no” on this question in the application.

    Please note that this question will not appear in ALSO/BLSO credit applications.

    Questions about these changes? Don’t hesitate to call our team at 800-274-2237 or email us.