Philadelphia, PA, December 20, 2012 – The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) has recently approved quality improvement (QI) projects from ten different organizations for credit in the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program through its Approved Quality Improvement (AQI) Pathway. The AQI Pathway helps reduce the redundancy in physician reporting, giving credit for quality improvement activities that they are already doing that meet ABIM standards and allowing them to get MOC credit for activities that support local improvement priorities.
“Health care organizations are creating robust quality improvement products of great variety and depth and ABIM is very excited to add these programs to our AQI Pathway program,” said Elizabeth Blaylock, Senior Vice President of Programs at the American Board of Internal Medicine. “These programs increase the number of options available to physicians enrolled in the MOC program while at the same time link MOC to the quality improvement work physicians are currently participating in, thus creating more relevant quality-focused options physicians to earn MOC credit.”
The new AQI approved activities include:
- American College of Chest Physicians' Performing EBUS-TBNA to Diagnose NSCLC
- American Gastroenterological Association's Sedation/Patient Safety Practice Improvement Module (PIM)
- ASN Dialysis Performance Improvement Module (PIM)
- Boston University School of Medicine's Adult Obesity PI Activity
- Consortium for Southeastern Hypertension Control: Aggressively Treating Cardiometabolic Risk Factors to Reduce Cardiovascular Events
- Med-IQ and the Endocrine Society: Performance Improvement Strategies in Diabetes Care
- PeerView Institute for Medical Education: Ameliorating Low Back Pain in the Primary Care Setting
- The Endocrine Society: The Evaluation of Thyroid Nodules PIM
- The National Health Care Transition Center (NHCTC) of Center for Medical Home Improvement (CMHI): Got Transition - Improving Transitions of Care between Pediatric and Adult Settings
- University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health: PAVE PI CME (Partnership for Adult Vaccination and Education
Research has shown that fewer than 30 percent of physicians examine their own performance data, and physicians' ability to independently self-assess and self-evaluate is poor.
The components of the ABIM MOC program reflect the guidelines of the American Board of Medical Specialties and encompass the six general competencies established by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. In addition, the program includes the practice performance requirement of passing a secure examination in internal medicine or subspecialty, self-assessment of medical knowledge and holding a license in good standing. See full requirements for MOC.
For more information on how an organization can submit a quality improvement activity for consideration into the AQI Pathway, please visit our website to review the requirements.
If you are a physician interested in the AQI pathway, please visit our website for a full list of AQI approved activities and programs.
ABIM Board Certified Doctors Make a Difference
Internists and subspecialists who earn and maintain board certification from the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) differentiate themselves every day through their specialized knowledge and commitment to continual learning in service of their patients. Established as an independent nonprofit more than 80 years ago, ABIM continues to be driven by doctors who want to achieve higher standards for better care in a rapidly changing world. Visit ABIM's blog to learn more and follow ABIM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. ABIM is a member of the American Board of Medical Specialties.