In this edition of News and Notes …

Assessment Blueprint Reviews Launching in September

Blueprint reviews are one of the most important ways that ABIM realizes its aspiration to be “of the profession, for the public.” Assessment blueprints provide a guide to content (i.e., topics) and the relative percentages that will be covered on each assessment.

The decision about what topics should be assessed in a discipline is made only by practicing physicians in the discipline and ensures that assessments are reflective of what physicians see in practice. Each subspecialty is on its own review cycle, and several—including Internal Medicine, Internal Medicine: Inpatient, Interventional Cardiology, Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology and Sleep Medicine—will kick off in September.

If you practice in one of these areas you will receive an email this fall inviting you to participate in the blueprint review. During the survey you’ll be asked about the importance and frequency of medical topics and related clinical tasks within your specialty. Your feedback will be included in the process that ultimately determines the relative percentages of topics that physicians in the discipline will be assessed on in the future.  

ABIM recently completed blueprint reviews for Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology, Critical Care Medicine, Gastroenterology, Medical Oncology and Transplant Hepatology.

The Approval Committees and Specialty Boards that oversee assessment in these specialties are reviewing the results of the surveys, and new blueprints for each will be published in January 2026. The new blueprints will be used for the LKAs beginning in July 2026 and for the fall 2026 administrations of the Certification and Traditional, 10-Year MOC Exams.

Important Certification and MOC Dates

Enrollment and Registration

August 15, 2025: Enrollment closes for the fall 2025 traditional, 10-year MOC exam. This is the last day to request a special accommodation for the fall 2025 traditional, 10-year MOC exam*.

December 1, 2025: Enrollment opens for all 2026 assessments.

LKA-Related

September 30, 2025: The last day to answer questions in the third quarter.

October 1, 2025: Fourth-quarter LKA questions are available.

December 31, 2025: The last day to answer questions in the fourth quarter.

*These dates are only offered to candidates who have a documented disability requiring a special testing schedule, as provided under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Please see the ABIM policy on Testing Accommodations for Exam Takers with Disabilities.

Higher Scores on ABIM’s Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment Associated with Reduced Post-Hospitalization Death and Readmissions.

Hospitalized patients treated by physicians who demonstrated more medical knowledge and judgment through higher scores on ABIM’s Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment (LKA^®) were less likely to die within seven days of admission or be readmitted within seven days of discharge, according to a study recently published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Researchers analyzed data from more than 4,000 hospitalists who participated in the LKA in 2022 and 2023, focusing on outcomes for more than 260,000 hospitalizations of Medicare fee-for-service patients aged 66 and older. Scores from their first year of participation in the LKA were compared to the outcomes of their patients seen in the two years prior to participation in the LKA, specifically looking at seven-day mortality and seven-day readmissions.

The study found that physicians scoring in the top 25% of the quarterly LKA Progress Report covering their first year of participation in the LKA demonstrated an 8% lower seven-day patient mortality rate compared to those in the bottom 25% (a difference for physicians in the same hospital of 4.1 deaths per 1,000 hospitalizations).

The authors also found a 5% reduction in seven-day readmission rates for patients of physicians scoring in the top versus the bottom 25% (a difference for physicians in the same hospital of 3.1 readmissions per 1,000 hospitalizations).

While not a primary outcome, a similar association was observed for 30-day mortality where higher-scoring physicians showed lower mortality rates compared to lower-scoring physicians.

The findings are consistent with multiple other studies that have demonstrated that patients whose doctors demonstrate more medical knowledge and judgment through certification and Maintenance of Certification (MOC) have a better prognosis on a host of outcomes that patients care about, like mortality, cost, process and quality of care measures, and physician state medical board disciplinary actions. Those previous findings have been associated with performance on the single day, longform, point-in-time exams. This is the first study to assess the prognostic implications for patients whose doctors are using the continuous certification LKA platform.

Introduced by ABIM in 2022, more than 74,000 physicians are now participating in the LKA to meet their assessment requirement, choosing it four-to-one over the traditional, longform exam. Physicians say they appreciate the flexibility, convenience and real-time feedback they receive from the LKA.

New Monthly Notification for MOC Points Earned

You may notice a change in notifications for new Maintenance of Certification (MOC) points added to your activity record in the Physician Portal. Instead of immediate notification whenever there is a points-related transaction, you will receive a notification monthly, meaning fewer emails in your inbox. You can expect this to begin in the fall. Activities will continue to be processed on an ongoing basis and added to your Physician Portal, so you can always see in real time how many points you’ve earned.

Early Career Physicians Help Shape the Future of Certification

Early career physicians are engaging with ABIM to help ensure certification better meets the needs of real-world practice. In the last year, more than 150 physicians within their first 10 years of board certification (in internal medicine or a subspecialty) have shared their perspectives about how the certification and Maintenance of Certification programs can better support them and their professional growth.

Earlier this spring, physicians participated in a series of online and in-person convenings at ABIM’s offices in Philadelphia. Through these conversations, they shared candid feedback, raised questions and gained a deeper understanding of how assessments are created.

Participants helped identify key areas where ABIM can improve communication, increase clarity and reduce burden, with a focus on those early in their professional journey. In turn, they met other physicians across specialties and from around the country who are interested in helping improve the certification process.

During the convenings, early career physicians learned about the rigorous process that goes into assessment development, new technologies ABIM is exploring to improve efficiency and opportunities to get involved, like joining an Item-Writing Task Force or Approval Committee.

If you are within your first 10 years of initial certification and interested in being part of the conversation, contact earlycareer@abim.org to learn how you can participate.

ABIM Welcomes New Members of Governance

ABIM Governance consists of more than 400 members on more than 50 boards and committees, and includes physicians, interprofessional healthcare team members and public members representing the patient communities they serve.

Every July, new governance members join the ABIM Board of Directors, ABIM Council, Specialty Boards and Advisory Committees, and Approval Committees. Collectively they help ensure the relevance of ABIM’s assessments and that the certification and Maintenance of Certification programs meet the needs of busy physicians. Learn more about new members of governance and view current openings.

New Look for ABIM.org Coming this Fall