AAFP CME earns special accreditation again—why that matters

Part of that value is the rigorous standard that the AAFP educational team sets for itself. Like other organizations that provide CME, the AAFP must be regularly re-accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). Recently, the AAFP was re-accredited with the highest level of recognition offered by the ACCME: accreditation with commendation.

“This accreditation is the result of our dedication to create the best educational opportunities for family physicians,” Martin says. “I'm proud of our team and this accomplishment.”  

What is ACCME Accreditation with Commendation?

The ACCME has five levels of CME accreditation. Nonaccreditation and probation statuses are given to organizations with varying noncompliance issues. Provisional accreditation is given to first-time provider applicants.

Most CME organizations fully accredited by the ACCME are given the accreditation status. To be accredited, provider organizations must adhere to a set of core accreditation criteria as well as standards for integrity and independence. Organizations must be reaccredited every four or six years depending on their accreditation status.

Accreditation with commendation is the highest level of accreditation available from the ACCME. In addition to adhering to the standards and core accreditation criteria, organizations like the AAFP that pursue this level of standard must also select from an additional menu of criteria that feature more stringent requirements and a stronger focus on a specific set of outcomes.

As part of the AAFP’s most recent accreditation, the elective commendation criteria selected include:

• Engages teams: Members of interprofessional teams are engaged in the planning and delivery of interprofessional continuing education.
• Addresses population health: The provider addresses factors beyond clinical care that affect the health of populations.
• Collaborates effectively: The provider collaborates with other organizations to more effectively address population health issues.
• Optimizes technical/procedural skills: The provider designs CME to optimize technical and procedural skills of learners.
• Engages in research/scholarship: The provider engages in CME research and scholarship.
• Supports continuous professional development (CPD) for CME team: The provider supports CPD of its CME team.
• Demonstrates creativity/innovation: The provider demonstrates creativity and innovation in the evolution of its CME program.
• Improves performance: The provider demonstrates improvement in the performance of learners.

Why Accreditation with Commendation matters to physicians

CME is a key component to board certification as well as AAFP membership. But it’s not just a box to check: Studies have shown that CME directly improves physician performance and patient outcomes, and is therefore an important tool to physicians in improving their craft and the lives of their patients.

While every CME provider must go through accreditation, not every CME provider approaches accreditation as a way of making CME better for family physicians. AAFP CME has been accredited with commendation consistently since July 31, 2001—the first time that such accreditation was available.

“We really take it as a challenge to be creative and innovative in designing education to help physicians take better care of their patients,” says Elizabeth Campbell, the AAFP’s director of education. “And so to us, it's not an obstacle or a thing that we have to do, but it really is us intentionally choosing these commendation criteria so that we can stretch ourselves and make our education even better.”

AAFP CME

Whether you learn best in a dedicated live learning environment or online, the AAFP provides a variety of CME for you and your practice. For more information about available educational offerings, visit our CME hub or sign up for our CME newsletter to be informed about new family medicine CME conferences and events as well as new and updated courses.